Trump visits Aurora, Colorado to warn of migrant threat that city says doesn't exist
AURORA, Colo. - Donald Trump will hold a rally Friday in Aurora, Colorado, where he plans to highlight isolated incidents at one apartment complex to prove Venezuelan migrants have made it a "war zone."
Trump has been making sweeping claims about Aurora, Colorado, ever since he heard about what happened in August in a single block of the city, in an apartment complex housing Venezuelan migrants.
It was then that video surfaced of heavily armed men going door to door in the complex, where the New York-based owners claimed a Venezuelan gang was extorting rent from tenants. Someone outside the complex was shot and killed around the time the video was recorded, police said.
FILE-Donald Trump is shown with an American flag in the background. (Getty Images)
Now, two months later, authorities say they have identified the six men in the video and arrested one. Tenants of the building say police check in regularly and the area is safe.
"Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city — not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs," Mayor Mike Coffman, who was an occasional Trump critic when he served as a Republican congressman, said in a statement. "The reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity have been grossly exaggerated."
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Trump’s rally will be held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center near Denver International Airport, roughly 10 miles from the apartment complexes. His schedule for the day gives no indication he plans to visit the neighborhood.
Aurora is an example of how Trump has been able to use real but isolated episodes of migrant violence to tar an entire population. He uses those examples to paint a picture of a country in chaos due to what he regularly calls an immigrant "invasion."
HHM: Economic impact of Hispanics & immigrants in the U.S.
According to academic research at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, available evidence suggests that immigration leads to more innovation, a better educated workforce, greater occupational specialization, better matching of skills with jobs, and higher overall economic productivity. In this Hispanic Heritage NOW report, host Carel Lajara explores the topic with Dr. Ernesto Castaneda, the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University.
The reality is much different: As with many other American cities, Aurora’s crime rate is actually declining. And multiple studies show immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.
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Asked how it could justify its sweeping claims about safety as crime drops in Aurora, the Trump campaign responded with a statement from the Republican National Committee: "The violent gang invasion of Aurora, Colorado, is just one example of how every state is a border state," spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. "Aurora apartment complexes are war zones, fentanyl is flooding communities, and migrant criminals are raping and murdering victims."
The 1 p.m. rally is sold out. You can watch it in the video player at the top of this page.