Former President Donald Trump will use a campaign rally Friday to announce a new initiative he plans to implement to remove illegal migrant members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a Trump campaign official told Newsmax.
Trump, the Republican candidate for president in the November election, will announce "Operation Aurora" during a rally in Aurora, Colorado.
The gang member removal program, to be used by Trump if he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in the election, would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil, the campaign official told Newsmax.
Trump has made the 400,000-resident Denver suburb a symbol of what he calls "migrant crime" that he says is a result of high levels of illegal immigration under Democrat President Joe Biden and Harris.
Immigration is a top voter concern in the run-up to the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Trump has claimed that immigrants are linked to a rise in crime in the U.S.
"Aurora, Colorado has become a 'war zone' due to the influx of violent Venezuelan prison gang members from Tren de Aragua," the Trump campaign said in a statement announcing the rally.
During a Sept. 10 presidential debate with Harris, Trump claimed that members of Tren de Aragua controlled several dilapidated Aurora apartment complexes — allegations refuted by top city officials.
"They are taking over the towns. They're taking over buildings. They're going in violently," Trump said. "These are the people that she and Biden let into our country."
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican who initially repeated the takeover claims and then reversed course, said in a statement ahead of the rally that "concerns about Venezuelan gang activity have been grossly exaggerated" and welcomed Trump to tour the city.
V Reeves, a community organizer with the Housekeys Action Network, said residents are nervous about Trump's visit.
"They're worried about Trump supporters showing up and threatening them, Reeves said. "We've seen people drive up in cars, waving guns in the air, saying that they want to kill all the Venezuelans."
Trump and other Republicans have labeled Tren de Aragua as a serious threat, attempting to link alleged members' crimes to increased illegal border crossings.
The White House and Treasury Department designated the gang – "Aragua Train," in English – as a transnational criminal organization earlier this year, although Latin American law enforcement experts told Reuters there was no evidence of large-scale organization in the U.S.
Trump has focused on Aurora as part of a larger strategy that seeks to blame Biden and Harris for illegal border crossings. Harris toughened her stance on border security after becoming the Democratic nominee in August, and blames Trump for helping kill a bipartisan border security bill in Congress earlier this year.
The dispute over gang activity in Aurora stems from an effort by the city to force the owner of several apartment complexes to address repairs, trash, pest infestations and other complaints.
The apartment buildings became popular with migrants arriving in the city because they did not require tenants to provide Social Security numbers, Ashley Cuber, an immigration attorney with clients in one of the buildings, told Reuters.
A public relations firm hired by the landlord, CBZ Management, said in early August that Tren de Aragua gang members had taken over the properties and that workers could not safely enter them, according to documents obtained by Reuters through a Colorado Open Records Act request.
CBZ Management did not respond to requests for comment.
The allegations gained national attention in late August when a clip of gun-toting men in one of the apartment buildings went viral, drawing national media and right-wing influencers to Aurora.
Cindy Romero, a former resident at the apartment complex captured the footage with her two security cameras and has since moved out. In an interview, Romero said she was a lifelong Democrat and voted for Biden in 2020, but that she has been leaning toward Trump this election because of her experience with crime. The Trump campaign invited her to Friday's rally, she said.
Reuters contributed to this story.