Donald Trump also blamed Clinton for the 13,000 "criminal aliens" the government released back into communities from 2008-14. | AP Photo Trump distorts Clinton's immigration position in pitch to grieving families

HOUSTON — Donald Trump promised justice to the families of people killed by undocumented immigrants, as he wrongly claimed that Hillary Clinton wants to "abolish" the country's borders during a speech here Saturday morning.

"Hillary Clinton is the first person in history to run for the presidency who is proposing to abolish the borders around the country that she is supposed to protect," Trump said.


The statement, which is not remotely close to being true, drew boos from the audience in a hotel ballroom at the first annual conference of a group called The Remembrance Project. While Clinton believes in a path to citizenship and supports continuing the Obama administration's controversial policy of allowing DREAMers to remain in the country, she has never advocated halting deportations of undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes, or reducing or ending border enforcement.

Trump also blamed Clinton for the 13,000 "criminal aliens" the government released back into communities from 2008-14 even though she was, as secretary of state during Obama's first term, focused on and responsible for diplomacy abroad, not domestic issues like immigration enforcement.

Trump's speech, delivered from a teleprompter in a much more somber tone than his remarks to larger crowds at rallies, marked a subtle return to base politics even as his campaign is attempting to finally sand down the sharper edges of his policy proposals and general election pitch to the country.

Citing his recent rise in the polls and the crowds at his rallies, Trump boasted, "It seems everybody agrees with me. What's not to agree with?"

In reality, he is still struggling to lift his national poll numbers out of the low- to mid-40s, with the race having narrowed largely as a result of Clinton losing support to third-party candidates. And his past 24 hours on the campaign trail served only to highlight the electorate's deep polarization and his knack for dividing voters.

He further enflamed the outrage of African-Americans on Friday morning by claiming credit for "ending" the birther controversy he pushed for most of the Obama presidency, while tricking the media into televising an advertisement for his new hotel in Washington, D.C. That evening's suggestion at a Miami rally that Clinton's security detail disarm so we might "see what happens" to her, Trump's second thinly veiled joke about his opponent's assassination, drew further outrage. And his expression of empathy Saturday morning to this group of so-called "Angel Moms" is likely to further harden negative perceptions of him among Hispanics.

Playing into the anger of those in the room, he criticized two of his usual targets, the media and establishment politicians, for ignoring their stories.

"You have no special interest taking up your cause and the politicians ignore your cries for help," he said. "But I never will."

Several of the family members who described their loved one's case at the podium expressed anger over Clinton's reluctance to meet with them.

"If we are all deplorables, we are doing something right," one woman said.

Formed in 2009 by a Houston woman, The Remembrance Project's stated purpose is "honoring and remembering Americans killed by undocumented immigrants,” but its tendency to inflate the percentage of homicides committed by undocumented immigrants has drawn allegations that it is channeling genuine grief into politically charged propaganda.

Many of the attendees wore T-shirts bearing the faces of victims and text explaining the circumstances of their death, often referencing the killer as "an illegal." As Trump spoke, two large projector screens hung on opposite sides of his stage showed images of victims.

The Republican nominee, not known for expressions of empathy or humility, spoke in somber tones as he focused on this group of victims that, he described as "stolen American lives" and the grief of loved ones who "will never be the same."

"We are going to win the White House and we are going to deliver justice for every single American family and every American victim," Trump said.