On the grounds of the Colorado town where President-elect Trump promised to remove the ‘vicious gangs’ of illegal immigrants

AURORA, Colo. – In the parking lot of a store on a cold afternoon, a man holds a cardboard sign identifying himself as an immigrant and asking for help. Next to him, a woman and at least one child were sitting on the ground, their shoulders bent in the breeze.

Such views have become ubiquitous for those living in Aurora and the greater Denver area. Migrants living on the streets, begging for money or running to cars stop at intersections, trying to quickly clean windshields.

Less visible to the average Aurora resident is the violent gang crime that has made the city of about 400,000 a national icon.

“We’ve seen extortion, we’ve seen murder, we’ve seen kidnapping,” said former ICE Denver regional office director John Fabbricatore, referring to crimes allegedly linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.

These problems are “a direct result of what happened at the border four years ago, and allowing all these people to come in who were not vetted. We didn’t know who they were. And now we have a lot of gang members coming into the community,” Fabbricatore added.

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A viral video Suspected Venezuelan gang members who held guns at an Aurora apartment complex last August are targeting Denver immigrants. President-elect Donald Trump visited the city during his re-election campaign last fall, detailing his Operation Aurora.

“When we take office, we will have ‘Operation Aurora’ at the federal level to expedite the removal of these vicious criminals,” Trump said during his Oct. 11 rally. He said he would use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to “target and dismantle the entire criminal network immigrants working on American soil.”

While local police initially denied that gang members had “taken over” The Edge at Lowry, local outlets reported this week that a judge had granted the city an emergency order to close the 60-unit complex. The city has described the complex as a “hotbed of unsolved violent crime and property crime,” and also cited the December kidnapping and torture of a migrant couple in an apartment complex suspected of being members of the TdA.

Nine men were charged this week.

A general view of residential buildings on 12th and Dallas on Dec. 17, 2024, the day after the reported home invasion and kidnapping. The police initially arrested 19 suspects. The three were released after the investigators found that they were not involved in this crime, said the police. Other suspects who have not yet been charged are being held by ICE. (Fox News Digital)

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The arrests come after an outcry from Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, accusing his Denver counterpart of removing immigrants from the small city “under the guise of two nonprofits” and blocking Aurora’s efforts to find out how many immigrants they had. placed in the city.

“Aurora has suffered a national scandal that has damaged our city’s image in a way that could have lasting economic consequences,” wrote Coffman, a Republican. “As the mayor of Aurora, I am asking that Mayor Mike Johnston come forward and tell 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 young people 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.

Fabbricatore said both mayors were “guilty of trying to ignore” the immigration problem, especially when TdA was first entering the community.

“There was a huge lack of communication between Aurora and Denver,” he said. “Both mayors must come out and admit that we have a problem with crime, which is illegal, and from other countries, that we have a problem with gangs, that is what must be dealt with.”

John Fabbricatore talks to Fox News Digital on Jan. 8, 2025, Aurora, Colorado. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)

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Fabbricatore praised Trump’s appointment of former ICE acting director Tom Homan as “governor of the border,” calling Homan a “policeman” and predicted that federal agents would be able to conduct “targeted enforcement” against “illegal aliens.”

Aurora residents interviewed by Fox News Digital said they feel safe in the city and have seen no gang problems.

Al, who moved to Aurora from Chicago four years ago, said crime in Colorado “is nothing compared.”

“I know there are many people who complain about gangs, but I personally have never paid attention,” he said. “The only real problem I see here is that the number of homeless people is very high, and I feel for them.”

Overall crime in the city of about 400,000 people dropped slightly in the first eight months of 2024 compared to a year earlier, an analysis by local station Denver7 found. And although gang-related attacks increased by 33% compared to 2023, the five-year average of reported crimes shows such attacks dropped significantly from 513 to 221, police data showed.

Locals were divided over whether they supported Trump’s promise of mass deportations.

“If they come in illegally, they need to go back and come the right way,” Roosevelt told Fox News Digital.

Roosevelt and Clarence spoke to Fox News Digital on Jan. 8, 2025, Aurora, Colorado. (Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi/Fox News Digital)

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But Clarence, who is originally from Memphis, Tenn., worries about the impact on immigrants who have lived in the area for decades.

“These people [have] I’ve been here all this time,” he said. “How are you going to drive these people out of their homes? I don’t understand that one. They’ve been around longer than I have.”

Robert minced a few words, suggesting that ICE should “deport Trump” instead.

Trump has said that removing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes is a priority, but that his administration is willing to target law-abiding immigrants afterward.