Former President Donald Trump visited Aurora, Colorado, to drive his message against rising migrant crime and illegal immigration.
Trump’s trip on Friday comes after the town made national headlines for a viral video that showed armed men taking control of an apartment complex. Trump maintained that “barbaric thugs” who belong to a Venezuelan gang have turned the community into a “war zone,” although local authorities claim that he has exaggerated the situation in the city.
Nonetheless, Trump promised residents he would return the city to normalcy.
“I will liberate Colorado! I will give you back your freedom and your life,” Trump told supporters.
During his rally, the 45th president laid out specific plans to tackle what he called “massive new burdens” on towns across the country.
Trump pledged to launch “Operation Aurora” at the federal level to “expedite the removal of the savage gangs.”
He also vowed to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The law that allows the president to deport any noncitizen that is deemed “dangerous to the peace and safety” of the country.
“And if they come back into our country, it is an automatic 10-year sentence without the possibility of parole,” Trump told supporters.
Trump called for the death penalty for any migrant who kills an American or law enforcement officer and promised to end “Catch and Release” and restore the “Remain in Mexico” policies.
He vowed to bring back “Title 42 medical rejections” and said illegal immigrants with “highly contagious diseases” are being allowed to cross the border to “infect the country.”
If re-elected, Trump said he would push Congress to end all sanctuary cities, including Denver, and pledged to carry out the “largest deportation operation in the history of the United States.”
Democrats’ Response
Ahead of his rally, Democrat leaders held a press conference and pushed back on what they called “false information” spread by the former president.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman previously told local media that Trump’s visit was an opportunity to show him and the rest of the country that “Aurora is a considerably safe city—not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs.”
Coffman publicly offered to show Trump the community and meet with the police chief.
“The reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity have been grossly exaggerated. The incidents were limited to several apartment complexes in this city of more than 400,000 residents.”
During his rally, Trump said that the surge of migrants is causing a strain on communities such as Aurora. He used the example of the education system and said that he heard from residents that young students can’t get into schools because illegal immigrants are given priority over them.
“They’re taking care of these people before they take care of our own children,” Trump said.
But Democrats pushed back on his claims and said that Trump hasn’t witnessed first-hand how Aurora residents are living.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo) called out Trump, saying that he can’t “drop into this community for a few hours at a luxury resort” without coming “to where these folks live and try to build their lives.”
Notably, Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky, a Democrat, spoke at Trump’s rally. Jurinsky said local police asked her for more help in fighting the Venezuelan gangs. She also told supporters that the gangs came to Aurora through the sanctuary city of Denver.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement that she would bring back the bipartisan border security bill if reelected and reiterated that Trump “tanked” the measure.
Harris once again vowed to create a “humane pathway to earned citizenship for hardworking people,” according to her statement.