A Venezuelan migrant living in migrant housing in Aurora, Colorado, appeared to hold back tears as he told Independent reporter Nick Shirley that he planned to return to his home country after living in the United States.
The city of Aurora faced strong backlash from Republicans this week after a video surfaced online showing armed men inside an apartment building in late August. Shirley was seen visiting multiple immigrant housing units before stopping by the area where the armed men were spotted to interview residents. (Related: Exclusive: Republican lawmakers denounce 'open borders' policy that led to Colorado's migrant 'takeover')
Shirley spoke with a Venezuelan woman who showed Shirley the poor living conditions her family endures, saying they pay $1,200 a month for an apartment. The migrant woman told Shirley that the apartment has no electricity or hot water, and that her landlord hasn't received any rent “for the last few months.”
“Does Dad still have to pay rent?” Shirley asked as she walked through her father's apartment.
“The owners no longer receive any compensation because they have taken everything too. The gangs and mafia are taking advantage of all this and trying to drive us out like dogs. This is not fair,” the migrant said, according to a translation.
Shirley asked if gangs attacked people, to which the migrant replied, “No.” The Independent then asked if life in the United States after crossing the border was what she expected.
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“No, absolutely. I would have stayed in my country. They say everything is different here, the laws, everyone can get a good job, be successful and save money to take back home. But not everything is as they say. The American Dream is just a dream. You come here and wake up. It's not like they say it is,” the immigrant said.
Shirley then pressed the migrant, asking him in Spanish if he wanted to “get on a flight home or have a chance to go home.”
“I'm going back to my country with all the love in the world,” the immigrant said.
Republican lawmakers on Friday letter He criticized the Biden-Harris administration's “open borders” and local “sanctuary” policies following the reported presence of the Venezuelan gang “Tren de Aragua,” which allegedly carried out attacks on several apartments in Aurora.
What reportedly began as a prison gang in Venezuela's northern state of Aragua in 2014 has grown into one of Venezuela's largest criminal organizations. With roughly 5,000 members and international operations spanning Latin America and the United States, the gang is allegedly responsible for several high-profile crimes in the United States, including the kidnapping and strangulation of a Florida man last year.
This week, the Aurora Police Department announced the arrests of two identified members of the Tren de Aragua gang, Jonardy DeJesus Pacheco Chirinos and Jonardy Jose Pacheco Chirinos, following a July 28 shooting that left two men hospitalized with serious injuries.
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