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Federal immigration authorities on Monday planned to conduct a targeted operation on “criminals & illegal immigrants” in a housing development outside of Houston that’s been under scrutiny from conservative lawmakers and media for selling land to undocumented people, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Abbott said in a social media post that he had worked with President Donald Trump’s immigration adviser, Tom Homan, “for months” to target Colony Ridge, a 33,000-acre development some 30 miles outside of the nation’s fourth-largest city.
Conservative influencers, outlets, think tanks and Texas lawmakers had dubbed it as a safe haven for undocumented people, often painting it as a cartel-run crime hub.
The extent of any enforcement was not immediately clear. Spokespersons for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Texas Department of Public Safety and Abbott did not respond Monday morning to requests for more information.
Abbott said that DPS troopers and special agents are assisting federal agents with the operation.
Any widespread arrests targeting residents of Colony Ridge for their immigration status would be among the most aggressive law enforcement actions to date since the development became right-wing lightning rod in 2023.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the developers in December 2023 following the outrage — for allegedly running a predatory lending scheme that preyed on Latino homebuyers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton later sued the developers as well over similar accusations despite having received complaints from residents for years about the developer’s lending practices.
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The developers have denied any wrongdoing. Their spokesperson was not immediately available Monday morning.
This is a developing story.
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