AURORA, Colo. – In a grocery store parking lot on a bitterly cold afternoon, a man held a cardboard sign saying he was an immigrant and asking for help. Next to him, another woman and at least one small child were sitting on the ground, their shoulders shielded from the wind.
Such visions are now common to those living in Aurora and the greater Denver area. Migrants living on the streets, begging for money or running to cars stop at intersections with squeegees, trying to make quick buck windshields.
What is not visible to the average Aurora resident is violent gang crime that made the city of about 400,000 people stand out in the community.
“We've seen robberies, we've seen murders, we've seen kidnappings,” former ICE Denver regional office director John Fabbricatore said, referring to crimes allegedly linked to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. .
These problems “are a direct result of what happened at the border four years ago, and also allowing all these people to come in who were not checked. We didn't know who they were. And now we has a lot of gang members going into the community,” Fabbricatore added.
A video showing gang members armed with guns inside an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, went viral in August 2024. This week, local media reported a municipal judge ordered the troubled apartment complex closed for “violent crimes and property crimes.” (Courtesy of Edward Romero)
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A viral video alleged Venezuelan gang members who took guns into an Aurora apartment building last August have highlighted immigration in the Denver area. President-elect Donald Trump visited the city during his re-election campaign in the fall, describing his “Operation Aurora”.
“When we take office, we will have 'Operation Aurora' at the federal level to accelerate the removal of these brutal groups,” Trump said during his speech. October 11 rally. He said he would use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 “to target and dismantle every criminal network operating on American soil.”
While local police denied that gang members had “captured” Edge at Lowry's home, local areas reported this week that a judge granted the city an emergency order to close the 60-unit facility. The city described the building as a “hotbed of violent crime and property crimes,” and cited the kidnapping and torture of an immigrant couple in an apartment building by suspected TdA members.
Nine men were there charged with regard to on crime this week.
A general view of buildings on 12th and Dallas on December 17, 2024, the day after the reported attack and kidnapping. Police initially arrested 19 suspects. Three were released after investigators determined they were not involved in the crime, police said. The other suspects who have not been charged are in ICE custody. (Fox News Digital)
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The arrest comes after a major explosion Aurora Mayor Mike Coffmanaccused his Denver counterpart of dumping immigrants in the small town “under the guise of two nonprofits” and thwarting Aurora's efforts to determine how many immigrants were brought into the city.
“Aurora has suffered a national embarrassment that has damaged our city's image in a way that could have lasting economic consequences,” Coffman, a Republican, wrote. “As the mayor of Aurora, I ask that Mayor Mike Johnston be transparent and tell the truth about what he did.”
A spokesperson for Johnston's office previously told Fox News Digital that “Denver did not direct the nonprofit or agency to place new 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 comment.
Fabbricatore said both mayors were “guilty of trying to ignore” the problem of illegal immigration, especially when TdA first entered the community.
“There was a huge lack of communication between Aurora and Denver,” he said. “Both mayors have to come forward and admit that we have a crime problem, illegal immigration, that we have a gang problem, and that's what needs to be dealt with.”
John Fabbricatore speaks with Fox News Digital on January 8, 2025 in Aurora, Colorado. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Fabbricatore praised Trump's selection of former ICE director Tom Homan as “border czar,” calling Homan a “policeman” and predicting that federal agents will be able to carry out “planned enforcement ” against “illegal immigrants.”
Aurora residents Fox News Digital spoke to said they feel safe in the city and haven't seen any gang problems.
Al, who moved to Aurora from Chicago four years ago, said the crime in Colorado “is nothing compared.”
“I know that many people complain about the news of criminals, but I personally have not noticed,” he said. The only issue I see here is that the number of homeless people is very high, and I feel sorry for them.
Overall crime in the city of about 400,000 people fell slightly in the first eight months of 2024 compared to a year earlier, an analysis of local station Denver7 found. While gang-related attacks have increased by 33% compared to 2023, the 5-year average of reported crimes shows a significant drop in such attacks from 513 to 221, police data showed.
Locals were divided on whether they supported Trump's promise of mass deportations.
“If they came in illegally, they have to come back and come in the right way,” Roosevelt told Fox News Digital.
Roosevelt and Clarence spoke to Fox News Digital on January 8, 2025, in Aurora, Colorado. (Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi/Fox News Digital)
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But Clarence, who is from Memphis, Tenn., was concerned about the impact of immigrants who have been in the area for decades.
“These people (have been) here all this time,” he said. “How are you going to push these people back home? I don't understand that person. They've been here longer than I have.”
Robert made a few remarks, suggesting that ICE is “kicking Trump” out of its place.
Trump has previously said that removing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes is a priority, but that his administration intends to target law-abiding immigrants next.