AURORA, Colo. (AP) Donald Trump detoured from the battleground states Friday to visit a Colorado suburb thats been in the news over illegal immigration as he drives a message, often using false or misleading claims and dehumanizing language, that migrants are causing chaos in smaller American cities and towns.

Trumps rally in Aurora marked the first time ahead of the November election that either presidential campaign has visited Colorado, which reliably votes Democratic statewide.

The Republican nominee has long promised to stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and has made immigration core to his political persona since launching his first campaign in 2015. In recent months, Trump has pinpointed specific smaller communities that have seen large arrivals of migrants, with tensions flaring locally over resources and some longtime residents expressing distrust about sudden demographic changes.

Aurora entered the spotlight in August when a video circulated showing armed men walking through an apartment building housing Venezuelan migrants. Trump has claimed extensively that Venezuelan gangs are taking over buildings, even though authorities say that was a single block of the suburb near Denver, and the area is again safe.

Ignoring those denials from local authorities, Trump painted a picture of apartment complexes overrun by barbaric thugs and streets unsafe to travel, blaming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris , Trumps Democratic rival.

Theyre ruining your state, Trump said of the Democrats in the White House.