Aurora, Colo. – In a grocery store parking lot on a near-freezing afternoon, a man held a cardboard sign identifying himself as an immigrant and pleading for help. Next to him, a woman and at least one small child sat on the ground, their shoulders hunched against the harsh breeze.
Such scenes have become ubiquitous for those living in Aurora and the broader Denver area. Migrants living on the streets would ask for money or run toward cars, stopping at intersections with wipers, trying to make a quick buck by washing windshields.
Less obvious to the average Aurora resident is Violent gang crime That propelled the city of about 400,000 to national prominence.
“We saw extortion, we saw murders, we saw kidnapping,” said John Fabricatore, former ICE field office director for the Denver area, referring to alleged crimes linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
These problems “are a direct result of what's happened at the border in the last four years, and it's letting all these people in without being screened. We didn't know who they were. And now we have more gang members entering the country.” Fabricator added.
A video went viral showing alleged gang members carrying weapons inside an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, in August 2024. Local media reported this week that a municipal judge ordered the troubled apartment to be sealed off due to “unmitigated violent crimes and property crimes.” (Courtesy of Edward Romero)
A Viral video Cases of alleged Venezuelan gang members carrying weapons through an Aurora apartment complex last August put a spotlight on immigration in the Denver area. President-elect Donald Trump visited the city during his re-election campaign last fall, where he detailed “Operation Aurora.”
“When we take office, we will have Operation Aurora at the federal level to accelerate the removal of these brutal gangs,” Trump said during his speech. March 11 October. He said he would use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to “target and dismantle every immigrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
While local police initially denied that gang members had “taken over” the Edge Apartments in Lowry, Local outlets A judge granted the city an emergency order to close the 60-unit complex, I reported this week. The city described the complex as a “hub for violent and property crimes” and noted the December kidnapping and torture of an immigrant couple at the apartment complex by suspected TdA members.
It was nine men Charged in contact With crime this week.
A general view of apartment buildings at 12th and Dallas streets on December 17, 2024, the day after a home invasion and kidnapping. Police initially arrested 19 suspects. 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)
The arrests come on the heels of a scathing editorial Aurora Mayor Mike CoffmanHe accused his counterpart in Denver of dumping immigrants into the smaller city “through the cover of two nonprofit organizations” and obstructing Aurora's efforts to find out how many immigrants were being placed in the city.
“Aurora has suffered a national embarrassment that has damaged our city’s image in a way that could have lasting economic consequences,” wrote Kaufman, a Republican. “As Mayor of Aurora, I ask Mayor Mike Johnston to be transparent 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 newcomers in Aurora.”
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain declined to be interviewed for this story. Mayor Coffman's office did not respond to multiple interview requests.
Both mayors are “guilty of trying to ignore” the illegal immigration problem, especially when TdA first entered the community, Fabricatori said.
“There was a huge lack of communication between Aurora and Denver,” he said. “Both sheriffs need to step up and acknowledge that we have a criminal, illegal, weird problem, that we have a gang problem, and that's what needs to be dealt with.”
John Fabricatori speaks with Fox News Digital on January 8, 2025, in Aurora, Colorado. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
Fabricator praised Trump's appointment of former acting ICE Director Tom Homan as his “border czar,” calling Homan a “cop's cop” and predicting that federal agents would be able to carry out “targeted enforcement” against “criminal illegal aliens.”
People living in Aurora who Fox News Digital spoke with generally said they feel safe in the city and have not personally noticed gang problems.
Crime in Colorado is “nothing in comparison,” said Al, who moved to Aurora from Chicago four years ago.
“I know a lot of people complain about gang problems, but I personally haven’t noticed it,” he said. “The only real problem I see here is that the homeless population is very high, and I feel for them.”
Total crime in the city of about 400,000 people fell slightly in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the previous year, an analysis by the center showed. Local station Denver 7 Found. While gang-related assaults rose by 33% compared to 2023, the average of crimes reported over 5 years shows a significant decline in such assaults from 513 to 221, police data showed.
Local residents were divided over whether they support the mass deportations promised by Trump.
“If they came illegally, they have to go back and come back the right way,” Roosevelt told Fox News Digital.
Roosevelt and Clarence spoke to Fox News Digital on January 8, 2025, in Aurora, Colorado. (Alba Cuevas-Fantauzi/Fox News Digital)
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But Clarence, who is originally from Memphis, Tennessee, expressed concern about the impact on immigrants who have been in the area for decades.
“These people (have) been here this whole time,” he said. “How are you going to kick these people out of their homes? I don't understand it. They've been here longer than me.”
Robert minced some words, suggesting ICE should “deport Trump” instead.
Trump has previously said that removing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes is a priority, but his administration is prepared to target law-abiding immigrants next.
