Aurora police deny at press conference that Tren de Aragua gang has “taken over” city: “It’s not an immigration problem”

The Aurora Police Department held a news conference Friday after surveillance footage showing a group of armed men at an apartment building gained national attention last month.

During a press conference, APD Chief Todd Chamberlain announced that three of the suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members in the video had been served with arrest warrants for first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm. Three others in the video have not been identified.

Aurora police are still actively searching for Andersen Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, and Niefred Serpa-Acosta, 20. Naudi Lopez-Fernandez, 21, has been detained.

AURORA PD ARRESTED 10 MEMBERS OF TREN DE ARAGUA IN CONNECTION WITH HOUSING OCCUPIED BUILDINGS: STATEMENT

Chief Chamberlain said verifying the gang affiliation of suspected Tren de Aragua members was a “challenge.” Tren de Aragua, a transnational prison gang based in Venezuela, has about 5,000 members.

“A lot of these individuals that we’re talking about are coming from a country that doesn’t have a strong relationship with the United States, they’re coming from a country that doesn’t have a database that they’re willing to share or that they’re going to share,” Chamberlain said. “So identifying these individuals as TdA gang members has been difficult.

“At this time, none of the six men (seen in the video) have been linked to an organized criminal organization,” Aurora police said in a statement provided to X.

Chamberlain also emphasized during the conference that the Aurora PD is focused on criminal behavior. Earlier this month, Aurora announced the arrest of 10 “documented” members of Tren de Aragua. Charges from those arrests include child abuse, attempted first-degree murder, unlawful use of a firearm and more.

“The Aurora Police Department targets criminals based on their actions, not immigration status,” Chamberlain said. “Immigration status is enforced by federal laws, by federal issues.”

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On September 5, ICE confirmed to Fox News that four Tren de Aragua members arrested in Aurora in connection with the July shooting were in the United States illegally, arriving from Venezuela.

Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky believes the city needs more help from the federal government to solve the problem.

“Immigration is the federal government’s job, and that’s why we need help,” Jurinsky said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.

“Our ICE detention center will fill up, and then what? Venezuela can’t just decide after emptying its prisons that it won’t take anyone back. The federal government needs to come up with a plan,” Jurinsky added.

“This is not an immigration issue. This is a crime issue,” Chamberlain said at a news conference. “That’s for the federal government. The immigration aspect is for the federal government, that’s what they’re focused on. That’s what they’ve done. That’s what’s coming out of the federal government. That’s what’s coming out of the White House.”

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Source of original article: Aurora police deny at press conference that Tren de Aragua gang has “taken over” city: “It’s not an immigration problem”