GOP Mayor Fumes About Trump’s ‘Grossly Exaggerated’ Crime Rhetoric After Ex-President Uses City as Prop: We Have Not Been ‘Invaded’

The Republican mayor of Aurora, Colorado, issued a statement decrying the narrative that his city had been overtaken by migrant gangs after former President Donald Trump departed from the area Friday night.

Trump addressed a crowd of supporters in the city during the final stretch of the 2024 campaign as he took his message out West for the weekend.

Using the name of the city, Trump vowed to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and launch “Operation Aurora” if elected to deport mass amounts of illegal migrants.

“We will send elite squads of Ice, Border Patrol and federal law enforcement officers to arrest and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left in this country,” Trump told Colorado voters.

According to USA Today, 10 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were recently arrested at an apartment complex in Aurora – a city of 400,000 people.

After Trump left his city on Friday evening, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman lamented that his city had been falsely declared as a haven for migrant crime. Coffman said:

There were thousands of people who attended the rally today, some of whom might have visited Aurora for the first time, who were able to see firsthand the mischaracterizations of our great community. I am disappointed that the former president did not get to experience more of our city for himself. I cannot overstate enough that nothing was said today that has not been said before and for which the city has not responded with the facts. 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.

The city and state have not been “taken over” or “invaded” or “occupied” by migrant gangs. The incidents that have occurred in Aurora, a city of 400,000 people, have been limited to a handful of specific apartment complexes, and our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns and will continue to do so.

–

Have a tip for us? tips@mediaite.com