Colorado.- The city of Aurora, which has a population of 400,000 people spread over 164 square miles, has subdivisions, working-class neighborhoods and the luxury resort where Donald Trump will hold a rally this Friday to highlight a city that has become in “a war zone” because of immigrants, in the words of his campaign.
The reality is very different from what Trump is showing to the attendees of his rallies. Like many other American cities, Aurora’s crime rate is declining.
The issue that drew Trump’s attention to a Denver suburb occurred in August on a single city block, at an apartment complex that housed Venezuelan migrants.
At that time, a video emerged of heavily armed men knocking door to door at the complex, where the owners, who are based in New York, said it was a Venezuelan gang that was extorting rent from tenants.
Someone was killed outside the complex at the time the video was recorded, police said.
Now, two months later, authorities said they have identified six suspects and arrested one. The building’s occupants said the police regularly monitor the location and it is a safe area.
“They left and everything has returned to calm and tranquility,” said Edward Ramírez, 38, referring to the armed men, as he got into his car this week.
The crime rate in Aurora has followed a downward trend like the rest of the country. That’s despite the influx of Venezuelans fleeing their country who have been sent to Colorado and other cities across the country.
Multiple studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.
However, Aurora is an example of the way Trump has used real but isolated episodes of migrant violence to generalize events.
He uses these examples to paint a picture of a country in chaos due to what he usually calls an “immigrant invasion.”
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