AURORA, Colo. \u2014 Former President Donald Trump painted a dark picture of Colorado\u2019s third-largest city at a rally here Friday as he once again claimed it had been overtaken by a Venezuelan prison gang. But the city\u2019s police chief told NBC News that Aurora is still \u201cvery safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt’s not overrun. Without question, Aurora is still a very safe city. It is still a wonderful community that is incredibly diverse,\u201d Todd Chamberlain said. While there is some gang activity, he added, \u201cwhat we hope to do is make sure that that gang doesn\u2019t grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the trail, Trump has highlighted a specific Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, after a social media clip went viral last month<\/a> claiming that the gang had taken over an apartment complex in Aurora. Police at the time said there was no evidence the gang had taken over the complex, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, called Trump\u2019s descriptions \u201cnot accurate.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At his rally Friday, Trump said immigrants coming from \u201cthe dungeons of the Third World, from prisons and jails, insane asylums and mental institutions\u201d have preyed on \u201cinnocent Americans\u201d across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd no place is it more evident than right here,\u201d he continued, \u201cbecause in Aurora, multiple apartment complexes have been taken over by the savage Venezuela prison gang.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The narrative\u00a0that immigrants have taken over the U.S.\u00a0<\/a>is central to Trump\u2019s re-election campaign. Using increasingly inflammatory rhetoric, Trump has seized on other suburban areas with immigrant populations. Last month, he and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio,\u00a0were rebuked by local leaders<\/a>\u00a0after they repeatedly claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were kidnapping and eating pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At his rally Friday, Trump said he would \u201crescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded.\u201d He announced a plan, dubbed Operation Aurora, to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of TDA and other gangs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chamberlain emphasized in his interview with NBC News that he did not want to be involved in a mass deportation effort and that regardless of immigration status, the job of law enforcement is to bring justice for crimes committed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are not in the business of deciding if you\u2019re documented or undocumented. We\u2019re in the business of making sure that if you commit crimes, we hold you accountable, or if you are victimized, we hold you near and we give you that support and those things that you need,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked to respond to Chamberlain\u2019s comments, Trump\u2019s campaign spokesperson pointed to a series of news articles about gang violence she posted on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n