Donald Trump intensified the anti-immigration rhetoric at a rally Friday in Aurora, Colorado, calling for migrants who kill U.S. citizens or law enforcement officers to face the death penalty. Addressing a large crowd of supporters, Trump couched his rhetoric within the context of mounting public concerns over illegal immigrationthat he has long framed as a top priority for voters before the Nov. 5 election against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump’s message was underlined on posters featuring
What he says are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He pledged a national crusade dubbed “Operation Aurora,” which would target gang members if he again wins the presidency. “I will save Aurora and each town that has been overrun and conquered,” declared Trump, who vowed to jail or deport those he declares “ruthless and bloodthirsty criminals.”
The ex-president’s death
Sentence plea follows his more encompassing suggestion for the rise of capital punishment for various crimes, including sex trafficking. Even though many states across the United States have abolished the death penalty, and its application is drastically limited at the federal level, Trump suggested that legislation would be required to carry it out on migrants committing gruesome crimes.
Despite Trump’s claims about “migrant crime,”
Studies have indicated that immigrants commit crimes no more frequently than native-born residents. His campaign increasingly has come to rely on this theme as an important discriminator in the election.
The Harris campaign was silent on Trump’s death penalty proposal, but Vice President Harris has built on her border security message since winning the Democratic nomination, criticizing Trump for blocking bipartisan border security legislation earlier this year.
A presidential debate on September 10, during which Trump lied that members of Tren de Aragua owned several rundown apartment complexes in Aurora, was just the latest in a series of rallies during which he promised to enforce in the city as if true, however based on no evidence.
Republican Mayor Mike Coffman rebuked the accusations,
Stating that concerns about gang violence had been exaggerated and welcomed the visit which would come from Trump’s tour of the city. And again, according to stats from Aurora Police Department, an annual decline in all categories of major crimes discount all that he would say.
Local residents who dwell within the targeted apartment building appeared to feel that the visit of Trump was inflammatory. Community organizer said some of the concerns residents had were the anxiety of getting into possible confrontations with pro-Donald Trump supporters.
As the city copes with housing conditions in question, sensationalized issues over gang activity have caused much commotion. A PR firm speaking on behalf of CBZ Management, an owner of several apartment complexes, recently said gangs have overrun properties, something local leaders and residents deny.
In the case of the rally in Aurora, it shows how this divisive discourse on immigration and crime continues to plague America as Trump is now at the forefront of the candidate who would get the country back safe and secure.