Donald Trump detoured from the battleground states Friday to visit a Colorado suburb that’s been in the news over immigration as he drives a message — often using false or misleading claims and dehumanizing language — that migrants are causing chaos in smaller American cities and towns.
Trump’s rally in Aurora marked the first time ahead of the November election that either presidential campaign has visited Colorado, which reliably votes Democratic statewide.
The Republican nominee has long promised to stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and has made immigration central to his political persona since the day he launched his first campaign nine years ago. Over the last few months, Trump has pinpointed specific smaller communities that have seen more migrants arrive, with tensions flaring locally over resources and some residents expressing distrust.
Aurora entered the spotlight in August when a video circulated showing armed men walking through an apartment building housing Venezuelan migrants. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Venezuelan gangs are taking over buildings, even though authorities say that was a single block of the suburb near Denver, and the area is again safe.
Some Colorado officials, including the GOP mayor of Aurora, accused Trump and other Republicans of overstating problems in the city.
“Again, the reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity in our city — and our state — have been grossly exaggerated and have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety,” said Mike Coffman, a former congressman.
Trump, who has disparaged immigrants since his first campaign speech in 2015, ignored local authorities’ assertions and painted a dire picture. He used dehumanizing language, referring to his political rivals as “scum” and to migrants as “ animals.”
“We have to clean out our country,” Trump said, repeating his common and false claims about migrants.
To thunderous applause, he called for the death penalty “for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.”
Trump announced that as president he’d launch “Operation Aurora” to focus on deporting members of the transnational Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TDA. The violent gang traces its origins to an infamously lawless prison in Venezuela.
Trump also repeated his pledge to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows the president to deport any noncitizen who is from a country that the U.S. is at war with.
In July, the Biden administration issued a sanction against the gang and offered $12 million in rewards for the arrest of three leaders.
Aurora resident Jodie Powell, a 54-year-old Republican, rejected Trump’s claims that Venezuelan gangs had taken over the city.
“That’s not the case,” said Powell, her bangs poking out below a white cap stamped with “Make America Great Again.” Still, Powell ranks immigration as her top concern alongside the economy and worries about crime.
“It takes a small amount of people to make a big difference in the community,” she said. “It’s scary, it’s a scary thing.”
Studies have shown that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens.
At the venue where Trump appeared Friday, posters displayed mugshots of people in prison-orange with descriptions including “Illegal immigrant gang members from Venezuela.”
“Look at all these photos around me,” Stephen Miller, a former top aide who is expected to take a senior role in the White House if Trump wins, told the crowd before the candidate spoke. “Are these the kids you grew up with? Are these the neighbors you were raised with? Are these the neighbors that you want in your city?” The crowd roared ”no.”
Some of Colorado’s Democratic leaders accused Trump and others of exaggerating issues in Aurora.
“What is occurring is minimal and isolated. And to be clear, it’s never acceptable, right? We never say any level is acceptable,” said Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). “But it’s not a surge. It’s not a change. There is no takeover of any part of this city, of any apartment complex. It has not happened. It is a lie.”
Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also have spread falsehoods about migrants in other communities, particularly in Ohio.
Though Ohio and Colorado are not competitive in the presidential race, the Republican message on immigration is intended for states that are. Vance campaigned recently in Eau Claire, Wis., a city of 70,000 that has resettled refugees from Africa and Asia, and touted Trump’s plan to ramp up deportations.
Trump has vowed to deport not only “criminals,” a promise he shares with his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, but also Haitians living legally in Springfield, Ohio, and even people he has denigrated as “pro-Hamas radicals” protesting on college campuses. Trump has said he would revoke the temporary protected status that allows Haitians to stay in the U.S. because of widespread poverty and violence in their home nation.
Harris has tacked to the right on immigration, presenting herself as a candidate who can be tough on policing the border, which is perceived as one of her biggest vulnerabilities.
She wrapped up a three-day Western swing with a campaign event Friday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she said she would create a bipartisan council of advisors to provide feedback on her policy initiatives if she makes it to the White House.
“I love good ideas wherever they come from,” said Harris, who is making a push to get Republicans with doubts about Trump to support her.
She also accused Trump of letting Iran “off the hook” while he was in office and made her case that she would be a greater champion for Israel’s security than the Republican nominee.
“Make no mistake, as president, I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend American forces and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists,” Harris said in a call with Jewish supporters ahead of Yom Kippur. “And I will never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Diplomacy is my preferred path to that end. But all options are on the table.”
Harris charged that Trump “did nothing” after Iran “attacked U.S. bases and American troops.”
The criticism by Harris was a knock on Trump for downplaying a January 2020 missile attack by Iran on a U.S. base in Iraq that left several American troops with concussion-like symptoms, including some who had to be evacuated for treatment. Trump in an exchange with a reporter this month referred to the injuries as a “headache.”
The Iranian missile attack came days after Trump ordered a strike that that killed Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and raised tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Harris participated virtually in a White House briefing with President Biden on the recovery effort from hurricanes Milton and Helene. She sought to reassure those who endured losses from the storms that they would get help from the government.
Associated Press writers Bedayn reported from Aurora and Gomez Licon from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. AP writers Darlene Superville and Jonathan J. Cooper and Los Angeles Times staff contributed to this report.