Colony Ridge Raided by Texas DPS & Homeland Security Officers
Is this community a haven for illegal immigrants and cartel drug operations?
A booming subdivision north of Houston that some have suspected of being a haven for illegal immigrants and cartel drug operations was "targeted" by state & federal law enforcement officers Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 - according to a post on x.com by Texas Governor Greg Abbott:
Tom Homan - who Abbott mentioned in his x.com post - is President Trump’s “Border Czar.” The Houston Chronicle reports it spoke to Homan, who confirmed he was in Colony Ridge for Monday’s operation.
On Tuesday, Feb 25, 2025, Homan "called this phase one” during an interview with Fox News. Homan said most of those arrested were criminals:
On Wednesday, Feb 26, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 118 people had been arrested in what he described as an "illegal immigrant hotbed."
According to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Colony Ridge, in Liberty County, is "the fastest-growing community in Texas."
It has also been the site of some large drug busts believed to be linked to Mexican cartels.
On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, Liberty County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Officers, along with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agents and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Officers, seized more than 344 pounds of meth and arrested three illegal immigrants in Colony Ridge.
The Sheriff's Office noted all three had each been previously deported at least four times.
The drugs were in 150 bundles, each about the size of a head of lettuce - and, appropriately enough - stored in boxes marked "lettuce" (in both English and Spanish) in a camper on a Colony Ridge property raided by officers there.
This is not the first large-scale (likely cartel-linked) drug operation busted in Liberty County.
In 2013, a massive multi-million-dollar, 300-acre marijuana growing operation was raided by drug agents from five federal agencies, along with state and local law enforcement organizations.
As this report was filed, the February 24, 2025, law enforcement operation in Colony Ridge was still underway. Houston Chronicle Reporter Jhair Romero reported witnessing one arrest - the owner of a tire shop - "for having improper work permits.”
In 2023, when Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick toured Colony Ridge by helicopter, he reported its population was estimated to be at 40,000 - and growing rapidly, necessitating the local school district to build new campuses to accommodate the new arrivals.
In 2024, Texas Attorney General Dan Paxton told state and federal lawmakers, “the development appears to be attracting and enabling illegal alien settlement in the state of Texas and distressing neighboring cities and school districts.”
He also criticized the developer's business practices:
"Colony Ridge targets foreign born and Hispanic consumers with limited or no access to credit with promises of cheap, ready to build land and financing without proof of income ... Colony Ridge has been flagrantly violating Texas law. The development profited from targeting consumers with fraudulent claims and predatory lending practices” -Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (March 14, 2024)
Both Paxton & the US Justice Department have sued Colony Ridge's developers for alleged deceptive trade practices - charges the developer has denied.
Houston television station KHOU reported the developer also issued a statement saying they welcomed Monday's law enforcement operation:
“We are grateful for the efforts of Governor Abbott, Tom Homan and all those involved in rooting out criminal illegals in Texas. In fact, DPS officers have been working throughout Colony Ridge for more than two years. They know who the bad guys are, so we are fully supportive of these efforts. We also know that Colony Ridge remains one of the safest communities of its size anywhere in Texas, and we are proud of our residents and their desire to make this community a vibrant, happy, and safe place to live. “ -John Harris, Colony Ridge CEO (via khou.com)
What do you think about the Colony Ridge Development?
Share your opinions in the comments to this article.
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Is there no room for honesty anymore? Everyone has known about Colony Ridge for a few years at least. All of the law enforcement groups have known about it, as well as all of the surrounding towns city councils and surrounding counties commissioners. No one has done a damn thing. All of these weak public officials have looked the other way out of political expediency at least. Hell, even the governor, Abbott, has sent our state guard soldiers to border crossing areas with rifles and no live rounds. The men have been stabbed, clubbed, and run over by criminal crowds while the Austin/‘all hat and no cattle’ leadership has claimed they were managing the issue. There are other big problem areas also, such as a subdivision named Trails End, just north of Hwy 105 and west of Cleveland, Texas. In late 2022 or early 2023 there was some very bad murders out there where 4 or 5 adults and at least one or two kids were murdered. The gunman was an illegal as were the victims. The county sheriff and commissioners knew about that area, and have done nothing. The area is still there and still full of illegals. The properties are very run down in many cases, snd there are glaring code violations that no regular subdivision would get away with.
I just think it is sickening for this to be reported as if it is a new problem. These areas have been growing for years, and it has been obvious that it is a very illegal immigration as well as crime area. Lt. Governor Patrick has really gotten a good look flying over it in a helicopter. Yeah, right.
I didn't realize they had unfair business and housing trade practices, like predatory loans. That will injure the Texas housing and real estate markets. This is bad for everyone, including the twilight central and South Americans living in these homes.