Suburbs becoming targets for violent migrant gangs due to sanctuary city policies: 'It's a nationwide issue'

Despite Denver's suburbs not adhering to its sanctuary city policies, the city has experienced an influx of migrants, which has caused an unprecedented wave of activity from a notorious Venezuelan prison gang among its neighbors.

In Aurora, a city nine miles east of Denver, officials stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the Tren de Aragua gang has established a significant presence, seizing control of apartment complexes and inciting violent crime and sex trafficking.

"We currently have entire complexes under gang control, where staff have been beaten up, threatened, and their families have been threatened. These complexes are being run by the Tren de Aragua gang. When someone leaves out of fear, the gang starts brokering apartments themselves by taking pictures of the apartment and then moving a Venezuelan family in within hours," Aurora City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky stated.

"The city is under the control of this gang, but the local media is downplaying it. I believe politics is being played with people's lives, and nothing is being done to help the American citizens trapped under this gang's control."

A strained police department has led to an increase in emergency service calls, as reported by Jurinsky to Planet Chronicle Digital.

The volume of emails from residents and business owners seeking assistance has increased significantly. The types of crime being alleged, such as gang activity, are not typically heard of in our city on a regular basis, she stated.

Members of Tren de Aragua are suspected of committing high-profile crimes in the US, including the murder of a nursing student in Georgia and the shooting of two NYPD officers in June.

Its leaders recently authorized its members to shoot law enforcement officers who interfere with their criminal activities, including in Denver.

Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirino, also known as "Galleta," was arrested twice in 2021 for violent crimes at an Aurora apartment complex that his gang had taken over. The first incident involved a brutal beating of a man, while the second involved a shooting that left two people injured.

Since crossing the southern border in 2022, Pacheco-Chirino has been detained and released at least twice, according to Homeland Security sources.

Since 2022, over 40,000 migrants have arrived in Denver, a city with approximately 710,000 residents, making it the leader in migrant arrivals per capita in the United States, according to The Colorado Sun.

Aurora's city council has passed a resolution 7-3, pledging not to provide any support or resources to migrants coming into their city, despite the city having spent an estimated $68 million to provide aid to them, even cutting back on emergency services.

"Jurinsky stated on "America's Newsroom" that they will not be assisting with the migrant crisis."

In 2017, when a Denver law was passed that opposed working with federal immigration enforcement and supported migrants and asylum seekers, it was clear that neighboring communities would also be affected.

"Recently, there was an influx of 40,000 migrants to Denver, which caused a strain on resources in the Denver metro area, as Douglas County warned."

To reduce the increasing number of migrants, Laydon stated that his county enacted an ordinance prohibiting unplanned bus stops and preventing "buses from San Antonio from dropping off immigrants."

The law passed in 2019, HB19-1124 in Colorado, has hindered efforts to control immigration influx as it prohibits municipalities from directly communicating with federal government immigration enforcement.

The state of Colorado is being sued by six counties, including Douglas, for allegedly violating federal law and the state's constitution through a law that restricts local governments' ability to cooperate or contract with the federal government.

"Local immigration officials should be able to communicate with law enforcement agencies, according to Laydon. There has been a rise in property crimes, assaults, and trafficking, and the cartels originating from Venezuela are a specific concern."

An ICE detention center, which is unable to communicate with federal immigration authorities, is located in Aurora and is currently overcrowded, according to Jurinsky.

Jurinsky stated that every week, they simply open the back door and allow hundreds of them to leave.

The Fraternal Order of Police's national vice president, Joe Gamaldi, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the issue at hand is not specific to Denver or Aurora, but is a national problem.

""Criminals are taking advantage of our country's lack of accountability and committing crimes without consequences," he stated on Monday."

To effectively address the problem in Aurora, a significant investment in the gang division is necessary, but the city also requires a criminal justice system that will charge and deport these individuals.

"The police officers will do their job and catch the criminals. The question is whether they will remain in jail or be deported. No special treatment should be given. This is not a complex issue. When people commit crimes with guns, they should be sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison."

The former head of the FBI's criminal investigation division, Chris Swecker, stated that the influx of gang members was "predictable and preventable," referring to it as "Mariel Boatlift 2.0." He made this comparison to the mass emigration of Cubans to the United States in 1980 and the rise of Salvadoran gang MS-13.

Swecker suggested that if this problem had occurred, he would have surged along the border and put agents up to interview every non-Mexican crossing the border. He also mentioned that he would have had informants to help combat the issue. He emphasized the importance of being creative and confident in allocating resources to solve the problem.

""The bureau should collaborate with ATF and DEA and treat this as an international crime issue," he suggested."