On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), who is also a Harris-Walz Surrogate, stated that “Some people say that, because immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, that the fact that there [are] more immigrants is one of the reasons that crime went down” in Aurora, but the influx of migrants to the state “is one of the reasons I’m so excited about Kamala Harris” because she has a plan to fix the crisis on the border.
Polis said, “I have, of course, met with ICE and the FBI, both of them have field offices in our state, Aurora, the mayor, really everybody has the same interest in getting rid of any criminal activity that occurs. And I think what Aurora faced was absentee landlords that let their buildings become dilapidated. They actually closed one that had garbage piled up in the alley, again, unrelated to any of this crazy stuff they’re talking about. But there were people living in unsanitary conditions, and it’s my understanding that the building was closed. So, again, the city that Donald Trump’s talking about is not the city any of us know here. I was in Aurora this morning. I’m there all the time. It’s a great city, a great town, and, as I said, crime has been down a lot over the last two years, and there could be a number of factors to that. Some people say that, because immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, that the fact that there [are] more immigrants is one of the reasons that crime went down. I don’t know if that’s the reason. We’ve also invested in law enforcement and we’ve been prosecuting auto theft, and that’s one of the main categories of crime.”
Later, host Kaitlan Collins asked, “Governor, beyond what Trump has been saying and his lies — because that’s what they are — there are real issues. And when you look into the numbers, there are about 40,000 Venezuelans that have migrated to Colorado in just the last two years alone. And when you look at the Census data, it shows 5% of the population in the sixth congressional district there, which includes Aurora — as you know — immigrated in just the last year, has that put a strain on local resources?”
Polis answered, “Well, look, this is one of the reasons I’m so excited about Kamala Harris. She’s a candidate that has a plan to solve the border crisis, wants to have border security, wants to create a way to make sure that people are able to work legally rather, than illegally. Donald Trump has stood in the way of fixing our border every step of the way.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
