Trump’s false claims about Aurora immigrants endanger local economy, officials say

AURORA | Local leaders and experts say President Donald Trump’s false claims about Aurora made during his national speech on Tuesday could have real economic repercussions.

“Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like nobody’s ever seen before,” President Trump said during his address to Congress on Tuesday. “Beautiful towns destroyed.”

During his speech to members of Congress, Trump made false claims he’s repeated before about Aurora being overrun and destroyed by recent migrants, and especially migrants linked to gangs. 

Local elected officials have also repeatedly denied his allegations and narrative, including statements by Trump and his supporters insisting that members of criminal gangs, such as the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, have not taken over the city or parts of it.

“Aurora is not now, nor has it ever been, destroyed or buckled under the strain of TdA gang members,” Councilmember Curtis Gardner told the Sentinel this week. 

The president’s comment was a frequently made anti-immigrant blanket, implying that the entire immigrant population was problematic for the city when there were only a few documented incidents of violent crime being committed by suspected Venezuelan gang members, according to Aurora police and city officials.

Mayor Mike Coffman said he was “very disappointed” that Trump named Aurora in his speech without mentioning the work of the city and Aurora Police Department in successfully pursuing the limited Venezuelan gang presence in Aurora.

Arapahoe County Commissioner Rhonda Fields, a longtime Aurora resident and former state senator, said Trump’s comments were damaging and inaccurate. 

“I know this, Aurora is strong and vibrant, not dismantled,” Fields said. “We will never buckle to a false narrative.”

In the speech, the president took credit for allegedly getting rid of violent criminal immigrants, which the Aurora Police Department spent months investigating and detaining before Trump took office. A Fox News crew embedded with federal agents during Feb. 5  immigration raids in the metro area, just after Trump became president, reported that 30 people were detained, with one being a suspected TdA member. 

The Sentinel and other media have pointed out that no federal agency has provided evidence of the administration’s claims. In interviews with local activists and family members of people detained, the Sentinel quoted estimates of fewer than 10 people detained in Aurora during the raids. Border Czar Tom Homan blamed the dearth of immigrant arrests on media leaks to activists, without ever providing any proof or details.

Local officials say the repeated comments by Trump and his allies are amounting to a smear campaign that can hurt local businesses, immigrant and minority communities and real estate property values.

“Donald Trump’s continuing to traffic in false rhetoric about Aurora is harmful to our city and a disgrace to the office of the president of the United States,” Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, told the Sentinel.

Aurora has for decades been a destination for immigrants from around the globe, in part because of its welcoming attitude not just by the local government, but local school districts, willing to provide for students that speak more than 130 languages other than English in their homes.

The anti-immigrant focus on Aurora began last summer after months of Venezuelan immigrants were bused to Denver, primarily by the Texas government. 

When Denver non-profit organizations began finding homes for some of the estimated 42,000 Venezuelan immigrants that came to Denver in 2023, it caught Aurora by surprise. City council approved a resolution stating that Aurora is not a “sanctuary city” and would not support the migrants coming into Aurora without supportive services.

One incident last year in Aurora involving Venezuelan immigrants began the growing draw of national media attention.

On July 28, thousands of people drove to the Gardens On Havana shopping center, clogging the parking lots as revelers celebrated what looked like would be the end of rule by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on that country’s election day. Police were called and managed the flash mob, they said. There were reports of trash from cars, drinking and loud music and, at one point, celebratory gunfire into the air. For weeks after, police maintained that they never lost control of the event.

Despite that, Aurora Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky made several social media posts and public appearances, calling the event a mob of dangerous immigrants and a portent of grave trouble for the city.

“To the people of Aurora, I need you to know the severity of and the flat-out truth about what is going on in Aurora. The media won’t make a big deal about it and will try to downplay it,” Jurinsky said in a Facebook post. “This is in the United States of America… this is in YOUR city. Please, please spread the word. This November’s election may, in fact, be the actual most important of your lives, your children’s lives, and your grandchildren’s lives.”

Several days later, news stories surfaced focusing on an apartment complex in northwest Aurora troubled by poor maintenance and allegations of a high rate of crime. The area of Aurora has for decades been the focus of anti-gang, anti-drug and anti-crime programs, city officials have pointed out.

Beginning in August, three apartment complexes were noted for criminal activity: the Aspen Grove Apartments, the Whispering Pines Condominiums and the Edge at Lowry, which are all owned by one corporation, CBZ Management. The first one that gained media attention, the Aspen Grove Apartments on Nome Street, was shuttered by the city in August 2024 for being overwhelmed with crime and filth. The city deemed the building a public nuisance and acted to close it after a significant shooting incident happened.

Then, a viral video surfaces first on the internet showing a group of young men forcing their way into an apartment unit while carrying guns. The video went viral, drawing international media attention to Aurora. It also prompted Jurinsky to begin appearing regularly on local and national right-wing media radio and TV shows, making claims that there was a “complete gang takeover in parts of the city.” Those reports made their way to Trump while he was still on the campaign trail, where he began repeating the false claims and exaggerations. Trump leveraged the allegations and media attention for a campaign rally in Aurora, where he announced his plan for mass deportation raids to address the “gang takeover” here and other places in the country. He dubbed the plan “Operation Aurora.”

Gang rhetoric linked to Aurora has been repeated continuously throughout the campaign until Trump won the presidency. By the time the deportation raids happened in February, the city had almost completely closed all three buildings. According to city officials, they continue to monitor the buildings closely.

Image and economic impacts

Trump’s callout of Aurora again Tuesday night prompted a host of local and state officials to push back against comments and narrative, pointing out that it will drive people — and their money — from the city.

“This was underserved and will cause both long-term reputational and economic harm to our city,” Coffman said in an email. 

Aurora city staff and council say they have been working recently to bring more people and create more attractions in the city while trying to move away from a longstanding perception of crime in Aurora. The president’s continuous claims, and even those from leaders inside the city, could be detrimental to that work. 

Recent local studies show that retail sales in Aurora have slid during the past few years and could fall further, prompting the city to look for ways to boost local businesses.

Michael Burayidi, an urban planning professor at Ball State University and the author of multiple books and studies about revitalizing urban areas, spoke with the Sentinel for a retail strategy story recently and said that even the perception of crime can be damaging for a city trying to promote retail. 

“If I shop at a particular place and there’s one major crime that is reported, then my perception will be significantly impacted, and I will refrain from going to that particular shopping mall because of the perception I have of the place,” Burayidi said. “Perception is important.”

He said that one successful strategy to change that perception is to continue to remind people when that narrative is false.

“Inform people of the actual crimes and hopefully dissuade them from thinking that there’s more crime in this particular area than in other areas,” he said. “It’s not going to be short-term. It has to be continuous because people’s perceptions are difficult to change in an instant.”

This can be seen in the lingering perception many have of the Town Center at Aurora Mall. Although the mall has gone through many evolutions over the years, some people still hold a negative perception of gang activity in the mall from 30 years ago. Mayor Coffman recently posted on Facebook praising the mall for its hard work and investments recently, but the comments on the post were peppered with criticism about past gang activity at the mall, which police reports no longer reflect.

“Stopped going there years ago, Mike Coffman,” commenter Pete Marck posted under Coffman’s post. “Too many gang bangers shooting up the place. I’ll drive to Lone Tree when needed.”

State and local officials point out that not only is Trump’s narrative false, the city has reported a drop in violent and other crimes over the past few years.

Aurora, Denver and Colorado Springs, the state’s three largest cities, regularly report the most incidents of crime, and all three municipalities have reported a steady drop in crime since spikes during the height of the pandemic in 2022.

According to the Aurora Police Department’s crime statistics, “major index crimes” decreased by 15.2% from the end of 2023 to the end of 2024, with overall index crime incidents from Jan. 1 – Dec. 22 at 17,370 in 2022 and 14,724 in 2023.

Badmouthing Aurora by Trump and Jurinsky last fall prompted Colorado’s governor and others to come to the city’s defense. His office reiterated the defense this week.

“Aurora – an incredible city that has seen two straight years of rapidly declining crime – is filled with hard-working people from many diverse backgrounds and small businesses that are driving Colorado’s economy forward,” Polis said in a statement to the Sentinel from staffers.

Both Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain and Coffman, along with many other officials and community members, have made numerous statements about how the city has been aware of the presence of gang members in small pockets and how they had the situation under control long before President Trump took office.

The city’s congressional representative said Aurora’s defense exists all the way up to a national level.

“I take public safety very seriously, and I work with local law enforcement and our community leaders to make sure that our community is always safe,” Rep. Jason Crow said in a statement. “No amount of crime is OK, but for (Trump) to attack immigrants and refugees in the way that he did and to say that there was some takeover of our community is false.”

Migrant rhetoric for political gain

Much of the migrant community that came to Colorado and landed in Aurora were asylum-seeking migrants from Venezuela. Some ended up in one of the three CBZ-owned apartments that were run down to the point that city officials deemed them uninhabitable.

Local and national news focused on two immigrants recently who said they were extorted and terrorized by a handful of criminal immigrants suspected of being linked to TdA, according to the Aurora police. 

From multiple previous interviews with the residents living in the three buildings, many in the United States legally as they applied for asylum were focused on obtaining federal worker permits and establishing a new life, residents and their advocates told the Sentinel. 

Nancy Foner, professor of sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, said that migrants who come to the United States for a better life contribute positively to the economy and typically avoid committing crimes for fear of deportation.

“Venezuelans are fleeing violence, and for political reasons,” she said. “They want to have a better life for themselves and, overwhelmingly, for their children. They work hard, and they’re willing to take jobs often that native-born Americans won’t.”

Venezuelans are also typically higher educated but take lower-status jobs because they have no other option, Foner said.

“I think it is a great benefit. The United States is getting these people who are very motivated and ambitious,” Foner said. “Much of this is just pure hostility to people, and not any kind of understanding of where they’re coming from, or any of the good things about them.”

Aurora is touted as the most diverse city in the state and one of the most diverse in the nation. The city takes pride in promoting global choices in local restaurants and international connections through the arts, culture and events, according to the city website. Aurora prides itself on cultural diversity, with a population of nearly 21% immigrants from around the world and 51% of those immigrants from Latin America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About half of the Aurora population is not white.

“Aurorans and others in Colorado understand that newcomers to our city are a source of economic strength and cultural diversity, and we reject the hateful slurs about immigrants, who are one in five of us in Aurora, our friends, neighbors and coworkers,” Weissman said.

Many local retailers in Aurora are immigrants. The Aurora Chamber of Commerce and Visit Aurora and the city continuously showcase the diversity in food, art, culture and unique stores, and much of their work focuses on bringing people into Aurora to celebrate that diversity.

Visit Aurora alone, the city’s visitor and tourism arm, spends about $5 million a year to encourage people to come to Aurora, according to IRS filings. 

Chance Horiuchi, executive director at Havana Business Improvement District, said she specifically picks out treats and goodies from local immigrant-owned businesses to hand out when the Havana BID hosts an event. She recently provided Chinese rice candies and sandwiches from Paris Baguette at a police space opening to highlight local retailers in the area.

Some city leaders say the slams on Aurora are undermining business and progress for not just immigrants but all city residents.

“The lies that our city has been “taken over” and the demonization of immigrants have to stop,” Councilmember Alison Coombs said. “There are bad actors in every group, and no group deserves to be defined by the worst among them — this holds true for the immigrant communities that make our city great. Our city has been — and should continue to be — a place where immigrants are welcome.”

With the lack of transparency from ICE and other federal agents after arrests and investigations, there are questions as to whether the alleged gang narrative is what critics are trying to make it. Many of the people targeted as TdA members by Immigration and Customs Enforcement come from a database that activist groups say has long been faulty. There is no clear way to distinguish if someone is in TdA since there are no defining marks or tells, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain has said on multiple past occasions. 

“Gang databases have been proven to be nothing more than racial profiling,” Andrea Loya of Casa de Paz said in a statement. “For example, a resource officer in a school or parking lot sees a teenager with a tattoo talking to three or more young men on a corner, and that’s enough to get you in a gang database that ICE has access to.” 

In Trump’s address to Congress, he referred to criminal immigrants as “savages,” a word critics say he uses to dehumanize people. Foner said this language is frightening to see a president use because it encourages people to think it is all right to dehumanize other groups.

“​Donald Trump’s reckless and offensive remarks about Aurora are an insult to the hardworking, diverse and resilient people who call our city home,” Sen. Iman Jodeh said. “The vile labeling of people of color as “savages” was deplorable. We will not allow a man who thrives on division and fear-mongering to define us.”