(MENAFN- Live Mint) Donald trump on Friday diverted from his usual battleground state campaign stops to hold a rally in a suburb of Colorado that has recently garnered attention for issues related to illegal immigration.
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As reported by AP, during his speech, he reiterated a narrative-often employing misleading statements and dehumanizing language-suggesting that migrants are creating disorder in smaller towns across America. This event in Aurora was notable as it marked the first visit by either presidential campaign to Colorado ahead of the November election, a state that consistently leans Democratic.
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The Republican nominee has consistently vowed to initiate the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and has made immigration a central aspect of his political identity since launching his initial campaign in 2015.
Aurora gained attention in August when a video emerged showing armed men walking through an apartment building that houses Venezuelan migrants. Trump has repeatedly asserted that Venezuelan gangs are taking control of buildings, despite local authorities clarifying that this was limited to a single block near Denver and that the area is now safe.
Dismissing these reassurances, Trump depicted the apartment complexes as overrun by "barbaric thugs" and claimed the streets are unsafe, placing blame on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponents.
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“They're ruining your state,” Trump said of the Democrats in the White House, AP reported.
“No person who has inflicted the violence and terror that Kamala Harris has inflicted on this community can ever be allowed to become the president of the United States,” Trump added.
Trump often used dehumanizing language, referring to his political rivals as“scum” and to migrants as“ animals " who have“invaded and conquered” Aurora. The town is“infected by Venezuela,” he said.
“We have to clean out our country,” Trump said. And he reprised the first controversy of his career in politics, when he launched his 2016 campaign by saying migrants are rapists and bring drugs and crime.
“I took a lot of heat for saying it, but I was right," Trump said Friday, repeating the false claim that other countries are emptying their prisons and mental institutions and dumping their worst criminals in the United States.
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Trump further called for the death penalty "for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.”
Trump announced that, if elected president, he would initiate“Operation Aurora ,” aimed at deporting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TDA), which has its roots in a notoriously violent prison over a decade ago. He also reiterated his commitment to using the Alien Enemies Act, a law from 1798 that permits the president to deport noncitizens from countries the U.S. is at war with.
In July, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on the gang and announced a $12 million reward for information leading to the capture of three of its leaders.
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At Trump's rally on Friday, Aurora resident Jodie Powell, 54, stated that it is "not the case" that Venezuelan gangs have taken over the city, contrary to Trump's assertions. However, she mentioned having observed an uptick in crime that she links to newcomers, recalling a police chase that ended at a store where she was shopping.
“It takes a small amount of people to make a big difference in the community,” said Powell, who ranks immigration as her top concern alongside the economy.“It's scary, it's a scary thing.”
At the venue where Trump appeared, posters displayed mug shots of people in prison-orange with descriptions including“Illegal immigrant gang members from Venezuela.”
“Look at all these photos around me," Stephen Miller, a former top aide who is expected to take a senior role in the White House if Trump wins, told the crowd.“Are these the kids you grew up with? Are these the neighbors you were raised with? Are these the neighbors that you want in your city?” The crowd roared”no" in reply.
Trump has vowed to deport not only“criminals,” a promise he shares with Harris, but also Haitians living legally in Springfield and even people he has denigrated as“pro-Hamas radicals” protesting on college campuses. Trump has said he would revoke the temporary protected status that allows Haitians to stay in the US because of widespread poverty and violence in their home nation.
Harris has shifted her stance on immigration to a more right-leaning position, positioning herself as a candidate capable of taking a tough approach to border enforcement, addressing one of her key vulnerabilities. She concluded a three-day campaign tour in the western U.S. with an event in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she announced plans to establish a bipartisan advisory council to offer insights on her policy initiatives should she win the presidency.
“I love good ideas wherever they come from,” said Harris, who is making a push to get Republicans with doubts about Trump to support her, AP reported.
She also accused Trump of letting Iran“off the hook” while he was in office and argued she would be a greater champion for Israel's security.
“Make no mistake, as president, I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend American forces and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists,” Harris said in a call with Jewish supporters ahead of Yom Kippur.“And I will never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Diplomacy is my preferred path to that end. But all options are on the table.”
(With inputs from AP)
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