Is racism fueling claims about a Venezuelan gang “takeover” of apartment buildings in Aurora?

Anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia aimed at Venezuelans has escalated rapidly since the property management company running the three apartment complexes blamed their dilapidated condition on a “takeover” by the infamous gang Tren de Aragua .

Tenants say they are more scared of white supremacists and people with animosity toward immigrants than they ever were of a Venezuelan gang.

Experts say immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the country.

Tenants who had to leave the condemned building last month are struggling to find housing.

Tenants believe the public now thinks they are associated with criminal activity.

Some city officials sided with the landlord and “blamed an ethnicity group,” Reeves said.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman says the situation has been “exploited for political gain”.

The story of the Venezuelan gang aligns with long-standing tropes that dehumanize immigrants, a professor says.

A 1926 report could not substantiate any link between immigration and crime, he says.

“It’s almost easier to dehumanize people, and one of the ways to do that is to say they are criminals,” Martinez says.