Trump calls for death penalty for migrants who kill US citizens, police | News about the 2024 US election

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for the death penalty for migrants who kill U.S. citizens or members of law enforcement during an incendiary rally in Aurora, Colorado.

In his speech Friday evening, Trump, a former president, repeated false and misleading claims about immigrants in the U.S. and leaned into nativist sentiment as he campaigned for a second term.

“Now America is known around the world as occupied America,” he said at the rally, referring to an alleged “invasion” of migrants.

Trump also presented a clear vision for his first days in office if re-elected, with policy proposals based on mass deportations.

“To everyone here in Colorado and across the country, I make this promise and vow: November 5, 2024 will be the day of liberation in America,” he said, referring to Election Day.

Trump has repeatedly sought to demonize migrants in the run-up to the vote, pointing to an increase in border crossings in the South under the administration of Democrat President Joe Biden.

However, critics have drawn parallels between Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and language used by white supremacist movements in the past.

A city in the national spotlight

Trump’s campaign stop in Aurora was intended to stoke fears about immigration: He has long used the city as an example of the alleged lawlessness of migrants.

The city has been hit by misinformation in recent months as rumors emerged that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken control of parts of the city.

These claims were false. According to media reports, they came about after a property management company blamed a lack of repairs on a gang presence amid allegations of dilapidated conditions in its residential buildings.

But Trump and his allies have continued to repeat the false rumors despite opposition from local officials.

Before Friday’s rally, Aurora’s Republican mayor, Mike Coffman, said in a statement on Facebook: “Concerns about Venezuelan gang activity are completely overblown.”

Only a handful of incidents linked to the Tren de Aragua gang have been reported in the city of 400,000, he added.

“Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a reasonably safe city — and not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs,” Coffman said.

Additionally, several studies have shown that undocumented immigrants are far less likely to be arrested for felonies and violent crimes than U.S.-born citizens.

Statistics from the Aurora Police Department have also shown that the number of serious crimes in the city has decreased since last year.

Preview of a second term

Regardless, Trump repeated his false accusations on Friday and vowed to “save” Aurora and other cities from an “invasion” of migrants.

“We will launch the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States,” Trump said. “We will close the border. We will stop the invasion of illegals into our country. We will defend our territory. We will not allow ourselves to be defeated.”

The Republican candidate also invoked racist and xenophobic stereotypes, including that migrants are likely to carry diseases.

“They are very sick, very sick. They are coming to our country. They are very, very sick and have a highly contagious disease, and they are being allowed into our country to infect our country,” Trump said.

In his speech, he mentioned what he would do in his first days in the White House if he wins the election in November.

“I’m announcing today that after I take office, we will conduct a federal Operation Aurora to expedite the removal of these brutal gangs,” Trump said.

Part of the plan, he explained, was to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, an outdated law that allows the federal government to arrest and deport aliens from a country with which America is at war.

Trump then added that he would call for tough penalties for migrants involved in crimes.

“I hereby call for the death penalty for any migrant who kills an American citizen or law enforcement officer,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

The race is entering its final phase

The Aurora rally comes as Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, enter the final stretch of the election season, with just 23 days until the vote.

Trump promoted anti-immigrant sentiment long before his first successful run for office in 2016.

In the early and mid-2010s, he spread conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama’s citizenship and whether the Democratic leader was secretly Muslim.

When he announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2016, Trump’s campaign relied in part on portraying Mexican immigrants as “rapists.” This rhetoric continued throughout his term, which ended in 2021.

Experts warn that dehumanizing language about migrants and foreigners can increase the likelihood of violence.

But polls consistently show that immigration is one of the top election issues in the United States, making it fertile ground for politicians.

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, have been heavily engaged on the issue as the November election approaches.

They have tried to portray Harris as a “border czar” — a misnomer — who left the U.S. with “open borders” vulnerable to mass immigration.

While the number of border crossings in the South actually increased under Biden, reaching 250,000 crossings in December 2023, they have since returned to numbers similar to those during Trump’s administration.

In a speech to Latino voters during a Univision town hall on Thursday, Harris defended the Biden administration’s immigration policies. She pointed to a recent bipartisan bill that would have tightened restrictions at the border.

The bill was reportedly defeated by Republicans loyal to Trump, allegedly at the former president’s behest.

Still, critics say Harris has moved further to the right on immigration issues. During a visit to Arizona last month, she promised to impose stricter asylum restrictions than Biden, who has already taken steps to limit asylum applications.

Trump and Vance, meanwhile, have focused on communities in cities like Aurora and Springfield, Ohio, to spread apocalyptic claims about immigration.

Last month, for example, the Republican ticket amplified baseless claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield were killing and eating pets. Local and state authorities repeatedly said there was no evidence to support the claims and called on Trump to stop spreading falsehoods.