Updated at 9:07 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump, the current GOP nominee, will make good on a pledge to visit Aurora, Colorado.
Trump will hold a rally Friday afternoon at Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, according to his campaign.
He’s been name-checking Aurora in campaign rallies, interviews and even at the presidential debate to argue for an immigration crackdown.
Trump has claimed a Venezuelan gang has taken over buildings in Aurora, a situation that elected Republican leaders on the ground have said has been overblown and is being dealt with by local and federal law enforcement.
A spokesperson for Aurora confirmed Monday night that officials are aware of the planned visit and said the city and its police department will work with partner agencies as requested.
The campaign press release announcing the visit said Aurora has become a “war zone.” It also highlighted nearby Denver as a “sanctuary city,” that is “buckling under the strain of illegal immigrants.”
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert welcomed Trump’s visit.
“From record costs on groceries and gas to dangerous Venezuelan criminals terrorizing our residents, we are sick of Kamala Harris crushing our state and our country’s future,” she said in a statement.
Like Trump, Boebert has focused much of her campaign messaging on the impacts of immigration on Colorado communities, hosting a roundtable in September to discuss reports of criminal and gang activity at some apartment buildings in Aurora. Tenants, however, have said they’re more concerned about the neglected state of the apartment than gangs.
Shad Murib, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said Trump is coming to Aurora to “spew hatred and division that’s not reflective of the Colorado we fight for every day.”
Murib also said Trump’s visit could hurt the campaigns of some Republican candidates.“The last time Donald Trump came to Colorado, he helped make certain Cory Gardner would lose his election, and he appears set to do the same to Republican candidates across the state when he visits Aurora this Friday.”
The Harris-Walz campaign also pushed back on the visit, calling it a distraction.
“When given the chance, [Trump] tanked the strongest border security deal in decades because he'd rather run on a problem than fix it,” said Kara Powell, deputy state communications director for the campaign. She said, if elected president, Harris would sign the bipartisan border deal negotiated in the Senate.
Denver has seen more than 40,000 new immigrants pass through over the past two years. The city's mayor recently touted the job training and housing program it's set up to help some newcomers get established.
Even as immigration remains a top issue for many voters, migrant crossings have dropped in recent months in the wake of executive action taken by President Joe Biden.
Trump lost Colorado by 14 points in 2020. He is not expected to carry the state this year.
