The former president said he would invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to crack down on illegal immigrant gangs.
AURORA, Colo.—At a large rally in Aurora, Colorado, former President Donald Trump expanded on his vision for mass deportation, saying he would use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act as a tool.
“We will have an Operation Aurora at the federal level to expedite the removals of these savage gangs,” Trump said, adding that the operation would “target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
He said his own “Operation Aurora” was named after the Colorado community where he spoke, as was a similar effort by law enforcement in San Antonio. Like Aurora, San Antonio has been roiled by the transnational Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TDA.
The Alien Enemies Act was passed at a time when the young United States was on the brink of war with France. It authorizes the detention of noncitizens under certain circumstances, including “any invasion or predatory incursion … perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government.”
It was invoked during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.
“We will send elite squads of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], Border Patrol, and federal law enforcement officers to hunt down, arrest, and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left in this country,” Trump pledged, drawing cheers from the crowd. He added that any of them who returned would be liable to a 10-year prison sentence without parole.
“I’m hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer,” Trump said.
Midway through his remarks, Trump invited onto the stage Cindy Romero, who had captured viral video of criminal activity in her Aurora apartment building that vaulted the community to widespread media attention.
“This isn’t just affecting me, this is affecting all of you as well,” Romero said on stage, urging the crowd to reelect the man who stood behind her.
The Epoch Times reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign for comment.
The line to get inside the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center stretched for at least a mile.
Meanwhile, not everyone was there in support of the 45th president. A small group of protesters greeted attendees as they left the resort complex. In addition, ahead of Trump’s visit, Mike Coffman, the mayor of Aurora, said accounts of crime were overstated.
“Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city—not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs,” Coffman said.Illegal immigrant crime figured into speeches from Colorado Republicans who preceded Trump.
One speaker was U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who is running to represent the Republican-leaning 4th District.
“Venezuelan gangs are extorting and harassing people,” Boebert said before accusing the media of downplaying or denying such criminal activities in her state.
U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez (R-Colo.), who currently represents the district Boebert is vying to represent, also discussed illegal immigrant crime. He did not challenge her in the 4th District’s primary. She is running for that district’s seat after moving across the state and bowing out of a race in the 3rd District, where she was slated for a rematch against Adam Frisch, a Democrat who nearly beat her in 2022.
Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams and Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly also took the stage, as did Republican congressional hopefuls Jeff Crank, who is running in the safely Republican 5th District, and Gabe Evans, a former police officer challenging freshman Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) in the closely divided 8th District. Evans vowed to flip the seat.
“Some of these migrants are hardened criminals,” Weekly said.
Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump adviser and noted critic of illegal immigration, delivered remarks ahead of the former president.
Miller said Colorado, currently perceived as a blue state, has an opportunity to “shock the world” by voting Trump.
