Former President Trump on Friday visited a Colorado city he has denounced as a “war zone,” painting the country's influx of immigrants as a grave threat to American society and making the immigration issue a major challenge to Vice President Harris. They are trying to make it an election issue.
Trump held a rally in Aurora, a city of about 400,000 people, where he helped the former president gain attention by spreading the word about gang activity in Venezuela involving a group called Torren de Aragua.
While state and local officials, including Aurora's Republican mayor, deny the narrative that the city is overrun with immigrants, President Trump spoke to a crowd of thousands about the dangers posed by the Biden administration's immigration policies. talked about.
“My message today is very simple: The person who inflicted the violence and terror that Kamala Harris inflicted on this community should never be allowed to be president of the United States,” President Trump said, adding on both sides: They held two signs reading, “Deport all illegal immigrants now'' and “Eradicate immigration crime.'' ”
President Trump announced an operation dubbed “Operation Aurora,” invoking the Alien Enemy Act of 1798 to target undocumented immigrants who are members of gangs like Torren de Aragua and expel them from the United States. I swore.
He said he would use Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal law enforcement to “hunt down, apprehend and deport every last illegal alien gang member.”
Aurora was thrust into the spotlight last month after a video went viral showing a group of armed men in an apartment complex moments before a person was shot to death. Many on the right claimed the video was proof that Venezuelan gangs had taken over the complex.local media reportedPolice could not confirm whether any of the individuals had gang ties.
The former president used dark xenophobic rhetoric to stoke fears about immigrants entering the United States during the Biden administration, claiming that towns were being “conquered” and that the president and vice president were “pushing illegal alien gang members and immigrant criminals.” “We are importing an army of people from other countries,” he said. From a third world dungeon. ”
“[Harris] You've successfully resettled them in your communities and preyed on innocent Americans,” President Trump said. “Nowhere is that more evident than here.”
President Trump invited Aurora resident Cindy Romero to the stage, but the former president said he felt unsafe in her community and had locked her door with four separate keys. Romero told the audience that electing Trump will help residents “take back our state.”
Before President Trump took to the stage, senior adviser Stephen Miller suggested that immigrants were changing the fabric of communities like Aurora and argued that Americans should feel comfortable speaking out about it.
“Do they want us to think they need to justify why they want to send immigrants out? No, no, they need to justify why the hell they're bringing in immigrants,” Trump said. Mr. Miller, the architect of the policy, told the audience.
Gov. Jared Polis (D) spoke early Friday at an event hosted by the Harris campaign and said crime has decreased in Aurora over the past two years.
“Former President Trump doesn't seem to care who he hurts with his words,” Polis said. “We hope we can turn lemons into lemonade and really show how great it is that the Northern Lights are in the national spotlight.”
Colorado has not supported a Republican presidential candidate since 2004, making it unlikely that Trump will win the state in November. But Friday's rally was aimed more broadly at raising immigration issues and portraying Harris as vulnerable at the border.
awall street journalA poll released Friday of 2,100 registered voters in seven battleground states likely to decide November's election found that 52% said Trump was the best on immigration and border security. , 36% said Harris was better on this issue.
President Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations of people in the country illegally if elected in November, and has signaled that he intends to revoke the protected status of certain groups, such as Haitian immigrants.
He attacked Harris as a “border czar,” a reference to her role in addressing the root causes of immigration from Central American countries. And President Trump has repeatedly highlighted instances of violent crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants.
He has also been at odds over comments attacking immigrants. He previously said some people entering the country were “contaminating the blood” of the country's people and compared it to Nazi Germany. And on the debate stage with Harris, he promoted debunked claims that Haitians are kidnapping and eating pets in an Ohio town.
Ms. Harris and her campaign have repeatedly attacked Mr. Trump for rejecting the border security bill negotiated in the Senate by members of both parties. The former president urged Republicans to oppose the bill and suggested it would be seen as a political victory for Democrats.
“He would rather solve the problem than solve it,” Harris said Thursday at the Univision Nevada City Hall.
