On the ground in Colorado, President-elect Trump promises to clear out ‘brutal gangs’ of illegal immigrants
Aurora, Colorado – On a near-freezing afternoon in a grocery store parking lot, a man held up a cardboard sign with his immigration status asking for help. Next to him, a woman and at least one child sat on the ground, their shoulders hunched in the biting breeze.
For those who live in Aurora and the broader Denver area, attractions like this have become ubiquitous. Immigrants living on the streets either reach for money or run to cars and stop at intersections with squeegees in hand, trying to make a quick buck by cleaning windshields.
Less obvious to the average Aurora resident is the violent gang crime that catapulted this city of about 400,000 people into national prominence.
“We’ve seen extortion, murder, kidnapping,” said John Fabbricatore, former ICE Denver field office director, referring to alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. de Aragua).
These problems “are a direct result of what has happened at the border over the past four years, and allowing all these unvetted people to come in. We don’t know who they are. Now we have more gang members coming into border communities,” Fabbricatore added.
In August 2024, a video showing alleged gang members carrying guns at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, went viral. Violent crime and property crime” ordered the troubled apartment to be closed. (Courtesy of Edward Romero)
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one viral video Last August, the incident of Venezuelan gang members suspected of carrying guns through an Aurora apartment complex drew attention to immigration issues in the Denver area. President-elect Donald Trump visited the city last fall during his re-election campaign, detailing his Operation Aurora campaign.
Trump said at a rally on October 11: “After taking office, we will launch ‘Operation Aurora’ at the federal level to expedite the removal of these brutal gangs.” He said he would use the Foreign Enemy Act of 1798 to “Target and dismantle every immigration criminal network operating on U.S. soil.”
While local police initially denied that gang members had “taken over” the Edge at Lowry Apartments, local media reported this week that a judge issued an emergency order to the city to close the 60-unit complex. The city calls the complex “an epicenter of serious violent crime and property crime,” citing the kidnapping and torture of an immigrant couple at the apartment complex in December by suspected TdA members.
This week, nine men were charged in connection with the crimes.
A panoramic view of an apartment complex at 12th Street and Dallas on December 17, 2024, the day after reports of a burglary and kidnapping. Police initially arrested 19 suspects. The three were later released after investigators determined they were not involved in the crime, police said. Other suspects who have not yet been charged are in ICE custody. (Fox News Digital)
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The arrests came after Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman published a fiery op-ed accusing Denver’s mayor of moving immigrants to the larger city “through the cover of two nonprofits.” small cities, and prevent the City of Aurora from finding out how many immigrants have been apprehended.
“Aurora has suffered a national embarrassment that has damaged our city’s image and may have lasting economic consequences,” Kauffman, a Republican, wrote. “As the mayor of Aurora, I ask Mayor Mike John “Ston was transparent and told the truth about what he did.”
A spokesperson for Johnston’s office previously told Fox News Digital that “Denver has not directed any nonprofit or agency to place newcomers in Aurora.”
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain declined to be interviewed for this story. Mayor Coffman’s office did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Fabricatore said both mayors “tried to ignore” the issue of illegal immigration, especially when TdA first entered the community.
“There is a severe lack of communication between Aurora and Denver,” he said. “Both mayors need to step up and admit we have a criminal, illegal, alien problem, we have a gang problem and that’s what needs to be addressed.”
John Fabbricatore interviews Fox News Digital on January 8, 2025 in Aurora, Colorado. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Fabricatore praised Trump’s appointment of former ICE acting director Tom Homan as “border czar,” calling Homan a “cop’s cop” and predicting federal agents will be able to target “criminal illegal aliens.” “Targeted enforcement.”
People living in Aurora interviewed by Fox News Digital generally said they feel safe in the city and are not personally aware of gang problems.
Al, who moved to Aurora from Chicago four years ago, said Colorado’s crime rate “is nothing in comparison.”
“I know a lot of people complain about the gang problem, but I personally don’t even notice it,” he said. “The only real problem I see here is the homeless population, which is quite high, and I do feel for them.”
An analysis by Denver Local 7 found overall crime in the city of about 400,000 people fell slightly in the first eight months of 2024 compared with last year. Police data shows that while gang-related assaults did surge by 33% compared with 2023, the five-year average of reported crimes showed a significant drop in such attacks from 513 to 221.
Locals are divided over whether to support Trump’s promised mass deportations.
“If they entered illegally, they need to go back and enter the right way,” Roosevelt told Fox News Digital.
Roosevelt and Clarence were interviewed by Fox News Digital on January 8, 2025 in Aurora, Colorado. (Alba Cubas-Fantazi/Fox News Digital)
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But Clarence, who is from Memphis, Tenn., worries about the impact it will have on immigrants who have lived in the area for decades.
“These people [have] Always here,” he said. “How do you get these people out of the house? I don’t understand that. They’ve been here longer than I have.
Robert briefly suggested that ICE “deport Trump.”
Trump has previously said deporting criminal illegal immigrants is a top priority, but his administration is prepared to target other law-abiding immigrants later.
