Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced drastic measures to crack down on gang members from abroad if he is re-elected.
“We will send elite Border Patrol and federal law enforcement troops to hunt down, arrest and deport every single illegal gang member until there is no one left in the country,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado .
At the rally, as in other appearances, he used dehumanizing language and generalizations regarding migrants. For example, Trump repeated the claim that migrants were bringing highly contagious diseases into the United States and “infecting” the country. Trump has made irregular migration the main issue of his election campaign.
The town of Aurora hit the headlines in August after numerous Venezuelan migrants had to move out of an apartment complex there. The city had the building evacuated due to safety deficiencies and hygiene violations.
Mayor: City not controlled by gangs
At the same time, reports about the suspected presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in the residential complex caused a stir. The city’s Republican mayor, Mike Coffman, said at the time that his city was not controlled by Venezuelan gangs, including residential complexes.
Trump, on the other hand, claimed exactly that during his appearance and promised to accelerate “the elimination of uncivilized gangs.” He will “save” Aurora and every city “that has been invaded and conquered.” Trump said he had been waiting for this day to finally be in Aurora “to catch the world’s attention.”