Over 100 Illegal Aliens Arrested During Colony Ridge Raid
On Monday, February 25, the Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) led a raid on the Colony Ridge Community just north of Houston. Over 100 illegal aliens were arrested, and according to Border Czar Tom Homan, this is only “Phase One.”
This massive development in Liberty County has been heavily scrutinized for attracting illegal aliens and the criminal activity that accompanies them. It is believed that tens of thousands of illegal aliens reside within the development.
Colony Ridge most recently came under fire when the Daily Wire exposed an email from Scot Campbell, the former head of the Texas Land Developers Association, admitting that Colony Ridge and similar developments would not be able to sell their properties if buyers had to provide social security numbers.
John Harris, the CEO of Colony Ridge, said he was thankful for the efforts of Governor Abbott, Tom Homan, and DPS officers but also emphasized that Colony Ridge is “one of the safest communities of its size anywhere in Texas.”
Those arrested included child sexual abusers, human smugglers, drug dealers (many suspected of manslaughter and homicide), and gang members affiliated with Jalisco New Generation Cartel and MS-13.
State Representative Janis Holt recently introduced legislation that would permit the government to track and identify illegal aliens who buy American land.
Texas Senate Begins work on Border Security
The Texas Senate Committee on Border Security met this Thursday to discuss plans for securing the Texas border. The Chairman, Brian Birdwell, concluded that it would not be prudent to make any changes to the state’s response at this time despite the recent reductions in illegal alien encounters that have taken place at the border since President Trump’s inauguration.
During the hearing, the new Director of Texas DPS Freeman Martin testified about the border disaster that reached crisis level in 2021 with a record 1.3 million crossings. He explained how Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which cost approximately $11 billion during the Biden administration, was one of the key factors that decreased the number of illegal border crossings.
As reported by several media outlets and Todd Bensman from the Center for Immigration Studies, crossings also decreased in 2024 due to negotiations between the Mexican government and the Biden administration to hold back illegal immigrants in Mexico prior to the November general election.
Director Martin maintained that there is still rampant crime, drug smuggling, trafficking, and national security risks on our Southern border and that the threat is not over.
In a separate testimony, Robert Black, Abbott’s Chief of Staff, has confirmed that the Governor has no intention of decreasing border efforts at this time. Texas lawmakers have decreased border spending from $8 billion in 2023 to $6.5 billion in this session’s proposed budget.
Governor Abbott has been to Washington multiple times to negotiate a refund from the Federal government for the investment Texas has made over the past four years, but these efforts have not yet borne fruit.
According to FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, there were 2,992,000 illegal aliens in Texas in 2023, costing the state over $13 billion annually.