Aurora’s violent gang problem didn’t happen overnight

A shocking video emerged recently of a gang roaming an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. Video showed armed men strolling around a building, knocking on doors, unafraid of consequences. How did things get so bad in the small city of Aurora? 

South American gang life has arrived in America in droves. Law enforcement agencies call Tren de Aragua (or "TdA") "the largest transnational criminal operation in the South American nation of Venezuela" with estimates of as many as 7,000 members.  

The group was formed in the late 2000s at the Venezuelan Aragua State’s Tocorón prison. American intelligence agencies believe there are over 1,000 TdA members in the United States right now. Members are often identified by visible tattoos. A popular one is anything commemorating Michael Jordan or his jersey number, 23, but clocks, trains, crowns and gas masks are also favored by gang members.  

HAITIAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FACING SEVERAL CHARGES WAS RELEASED AT US BORDER LAST YEAR

With the southern border unsecured, more gang members can be entering all the time. U.S. Customs and Border Protection have identified around 70 members entering in the past two years. Many more unidentified members could have easily come in with the approximately 2.5 million unapproved people who have crossed our southern border in just 2023.   

Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang have overtaken an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, charging rent in exchange for 'protection.' (Edward Romero)

A "sanctuary city" limits its cooperation with the federal government where lawbreaking immigrants are concerned. Cities like this will enact policies to assist migrants who are in the country illegally. In practice, Sanctuary cities act as magnets for people crossing our borders without permission. 

Aurora is not a "sanctuary city," but that has been of little comfort for its residents. In February, the Aurora City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution to not provide emergency services to the migrant influx. It hasn’t made a difference.  

Just next door, under 10 miles away, is the sanctuary city of Denver, which has seen a dramatic rise in illegal immigration due to their lax policies and consistent funding to draw in the migrants. Beyond that, according to the Center of Immigration Studies, Colorado has statewide policies of noncompliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

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Aurora’s Police Department has attempted to downplay what Americans watched on the scary video. Interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris posted a video on the department’s Facebook page and said "We've been talking to the residents here and learning from them to find out what exactly is going on, and there's definitely a different picture. I'm not saying that there's not [sic] gang members that don't live in this community but what we’re learning out here is that gang members have not taken over this complex." 

Video

It’s a soft touch after the startling video. People who live in a complex with roaming, armed, gang members may be afraid to tell police what’s really going on.  

TdA members have already been tied to numerous horrific crimes, including the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student murdered while out jogging at the University of Georgia. One member allegedly shot two police officers in New York in June and was found to be running guns into the migrant center where he was staying. 

In March, The National Gang Intelligence Center assessed that in the next year, "TdA members ‘will identify US cities and municipalities that are vulnerable to criminal exploitation or lack an established gang presence.’" Subsequently, TdA members will establish criminal networks including extortion schemes, sex, drug, and weapons trafficking. 

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The apartment building has been completely overrun by the alleged gang members, including changing the locks, according to one resident. (Council member Danielle Jurinsky)

Cities and states already have laws against all of these things, but what we’re seeing throughout the country is a lack of appetite in certain places to enforce those laws. Lawlessness doesn’t just arrive one day on the streets of a place like Aurora. The first law the gang members break is entering our country illegally. Once they are not prosecuted for that, they’re free to roam, from sanctuary city to non-sanctuary city, committing crimes along the way and supported by a system that puts their rights ahead of the rights of its citizens.  

Our safety is in enforcement of illegal activity. We’ve spent years allowing this criminal element to fester in our country because of inaction at the border. No American is safe without a secure border. 

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