Donald Trump has taken his anti-immigration rhetoric a notch higher by portraying migrants as dangerous criminals during a rally in Aurora, Colorado, USA calling for the death penalty for migrants who kill U.S. citizens.
Standing beside posters of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, Trump said that if elected he would launch a national “Operation Aurora” to target the gang members.
Trump, the US Republican presidential candidate, has noticeably hardened his anti-immigration rhetoric in the final weeks ahead of the November 5 election campaign, where he aims to defeat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
“I’m hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer,” Trump said as his supporters cheered.
Trump has already proposed an expansion of the death penalty for other offenders, including people convicted of s£x trafficking women and children.
While there is a federal death penalty, it is rarely used, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit group. An expansion of eligible crimes would require an act of the U.S. Congress.