Colony Ridge Settlement a Positive for Locals and Immigration Enforcement

In a major win for border security, the Federal government and the State of Texas secured a $68 million settlement against the Colony Ridge developers. Colony Ridge is a housing development project in Liberty County that quickly became a haven of illegal aliens and accompanying cartel activity.

The federal and state governments took Colony Ridge to court, and last Tuesday reached a settlement agreement that ends Colony Ridge’s illegal-friendly policies. Colony Ridge previously marketed itself as “move-in ready” and not requiring the paperwork and processes that normally would be required for traditional home loan, which made it an attractive option to illegal aliens lacking significant down payments, U.S. identification, and credit history.

The $68 million settlement includes $48 million for infrastructure improvements to remediate the flooding, drainage, and sewage issues within the development and $20 million for an increased law enforcement presence including cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deal with the illegal alien population in the development.

Additionally, Colony Ridge must now require any purchasers to present legitimate ID, such as an unexpired passport or drivers’ license, and must also verify that they are not on any terrorism watch lists or affiliated with any transnational criminal organizations. This settlement also puts a moratorium on new platting, effectively freezing the development of new lots for homes.

The requirements in the settlement are also set to be enforced by an independent compliance specialist, ensuring Colony Ridge can’t secretly break the settlement agreement and sell to illegals. If Colony Ridge had been allowed to continue this scheme, it would have made Texas a prime destination for illegals and motivated more foreigners to come here and line their pockets.

Texans for Strong Borders supports this win and is grateful to Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Trump DOJ for fighting to protect Texas from this assault on our sovereignty.