Trump’s Aurora rally prompts a neighborhood counter-protest — and a fiesta

AURORA | Donald Trump’s visit to Aurora ignited strong reactions from community leaders and residents of the Edge at Lowry apartments, who gathered to protest his rhetoric on immigration and broader political agenda. 

Residents of the Edge, a multi-building apartment complex in northwest Aurora, and community leaders organized a “Fiesta at the Barrio” to show they are just people, not the dangerous elements Trump has portrayed.

The Edge and two other apartment complexes nearby have become the center of local and national controversy. Police and city officials say there have been limited Venezuelan gang issues in some of the buildings. But they blame problems primarily on negligent apartment landlords, police and city officials say. Conditions at the property are “unlivable,” and the city is currently pushing court orders to make repairs, restore electricity, plumbing and water.

Mayor Mike Coffman has called property owners, “slumlords.”

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, however, has for the past few weeks falsely insisted that Venezuelan gangs have overrun the apartment buildings, and the entire city. Police maintain the actual gang issues are a minor problem in the area.

The controversy drew Trump to a rally Friday at the Gaylord Rockies hotel, about 10 miles east of the Edge.

There, he called for deporting tens of millions of undocumented immigrants, beginning in northwest Aurora. Trump has dubbed the plan, “Operation Aurora.”

Immigrant rights groups and local advocates led a demonstration before the fiesta, Friday  highlighting frustrations with Trump’s policies and his continued targeting of immigrant communities.

Local elected leaders, including Aurora City Councilmember Crystal Murillo and state House representatives Tim Hernandez and Mandy Lindsay, joined the protest to address what they say is harm to immigrants and minorities caused by Trump’s rhetoric. 

“This is fear-mongering and lies for political gain,” said V Reeves, a Housekeys Action Network Denver spokesperson. “These are families and hard-working people being villainized.” 

She said the demonization has already had real consequences for many Venezuelan and Spanish-speaking residents.

“A lot of them lost their jobs, folks who still have their jobs, folks who have work permits, folks who have citizenship, those folks have found that their hours have been cut in half,” Reeves said. “They’re being told by their bosses not to let anybody know that they’re Venezuelan.”

V, along with representatives from the National Immigration Law Center Immigration Justice Fund and the Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition Action Fund, condemned not only Trump but also local political figures like Aurora City Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky and U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert, Republicans who they accused of exacerbating the situation.

Jurinsky appeared repeatedly on Fox News as well as local right-leaning TV, radio and print media saying that mainstream media, city government and police were hiding or downplaying the gravity of Venezuelan gang involvement in northwest Aurora. She said apartment complexes and some streets were overrun by Venezuelan gangs. She has since made attempts to backpedal from her original claims.

Reeves detailed how anti-immigrant sentiment created by the Venezuelan hysteria has affected a wide range of immigrant families, who have suffered work losses and opportunities.

Children, too, Reeves said, have faced bullying, and many families now fear harassment in public spaces.

A mother of two previous residents at a CBZ Management apartment, Yuemys Perez-Aponte told the Sentinel that her sons were falsely identified as members of the Venezuela gang Tren de Aragua. She said that when the Aurora Police Department let them go because they lacked evidence of them being gang members, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials immediately picked them up and placed them in detention, even though they had already applied for asylum.

Reeves said that Perez-Aponte’s sons were initially arrested for sweeping empty bullet shells off their porch, and police cited it as tampering with evidence. Their mugshots have been used throughout national media, and she aims to clear their names. 

Activists urged the city to take responsibility for improving housing conditions at the Edge at Lowry, demanding safety measures and financial assistance. They emphasized that without proper support, tenants would continue to face extreme hardships, long-term debt and homelessness. 

Aurora is currently embroiled in legal action in municipal court in an attempt to force property owners to restore the buildings and apartment to habitable and safe conditions. 

Repeated calls to CBZ officials from the Sentinel have gone unreturned.

Immigrant rights officials and Aurora immigrant residents insist that rhetoric by Trump, Boebert and Jurinsky, amplified by media and social media portend grave dangers for minority and immigrants. 

Will Dempster, vice president of strategic communications at the National Immigration Law Center Immigrant Justice Fund, delivered a passionate address recalling Trump’s “legacy of racism and cruelty” toward immigrants. 

“Ever since he came down his golden escalator nine years ago, Donald Trump has attacked and spread lies about immigrants,” Dempster said. 

He warned that Trump’s promises of mass deportations in a potential second term would have devastating consequences for communities across Colorado and the nation. 

“Trump is only stoking hate and division for political gain,” Dempster said.

City Council Member Crystal Murillo reflected on the fear and division Trump’s visit stirred in Aurora. 

“It’s been a really long week in Aurora with the impending and ultimate visit of Trump,” Murillo said. 

She criticized CBZ Management, as well as political officials,  for neglecting Venezuelan residents and using intimidation tactics to keep them silent. Murillo condemned the deplorable conditions many immigrant families were forced to endure, pointing to the systemic failures that allowed such mistreatment to continue.

State Rep. Mandy Lindsay, D-Aurora, also expressed deep frustration with the national spotlight on Aurora due to Trump’s false narrative. 

“It’s disgusting to have people in leadership, in the city council, or former presidents say outright, provably false lies again and again,” she said. 

Lindsay warned of dangers caused by a  rise in vigilante actions spurred by social media, where outsiders have come to Aurora to make false claims about the community. Her concerns reflected the broader fears shared by many that Trump’s rhetoric was causing real-world harm.

Hernandez, a former public school teacher and state representative representing Denver, spoke passionately about the impact of Trump’s policies on undocumented students and families in Aurora. He called Trump’s call for mass deportations “a fascist policy, outcome and choice.” 

“Mass deportation is not a solution to a border crisis; it is an act of hate,” he said.

Faith leader Pastor Tracy of Mountain View United Church also joined the rally, emphasizing the moral imperative to welcome immigrants. 

“In Aurora, we care for our neighbors no matter where they were born,” she said. “Hate is not welcome in Aurora. We are diverse, we are strong, and we are united.”

Trump’s visit to Aurora may have stirred tensions, but it also galvanized a community whose members say are ready to fight for justice. The rally was more than a response to Trump’s rhetoric — it was a broader statement about Aurora’s commitment to inclusion and dignity for all residents. 

“The city must stop siding with out-of-state slumlords who profit off our community’s suffering,” Reeves said.

The rally ended as a street party among residents in the neighborhood celebrated a mild fall Friday night with music, grilled foods, games and dancing.