The second highest ranking official in Texas says he will call on the governor to announce a special legislative session to address Colony Ridge, a massive housing development north of Houston that has become a hub for illegal immigrants.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Republican, said on Tuesday that he plans to ask Governor Greg Abbott to convene a special legislative session to address concerns about Colony Ridge, which many fear has become a strategic center for Mexican cartels to operate in the United States.
“Once I get a little more legal foundation on this to see what we can do I am going to ask Governor Abbott to address some of these issues in a special session,” Patrick said after he was asked about The Daily Wire’s report on Colony Ridge by Texas radio host Michael Berry. “We can’t have entire cities of people who are here illegally with basically no law enforcement, in some cases I’m told no running water, it’s a very dangerous place to be. This is not what America was built on. This massive complex of people here illegally creating their own city north of Houston, its just unacceptable.”
Patrick’s comments came after a The Daily Wire report on Colony Ridge, a land development that sprawls across roughly 60 square miles and attracts illegal aliens with a financing offer that does not require buyers to show proof of citizenship. Buyers are encouraged, exclusively in Spanish, to “own land in the United States.”
Berry, the Texas radio host, told Patrick his listeners were clamoring for answers from elected leaders on Colony Ridge. “I asked for listener input and the number one question I got — thirty emails out of the fifty I got in three minutes — Colony Ridge,” Berry said. “This is a big issue … people are very concerned, it’s been profiled nationally now.”
Patrick told Berry he was “very aware” of the problems at Colony Ridge after talking with law enforcement in the area.
The call for action on Colony Ridge was echoed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who told The Daily Wire he has already received additional information on the Colony Ridge development and that “it’s highly concerning.”
“My staff is pushing on the Department of Homeland Security and Texas Department of Public Safety to get us additional information on this. It’s highly concerning,” Roy said. “I had a report given to me this morning. I’m not in a position to fully articulate exactly what’s happening other than it is problematic and a continuation of these wide open border policies … and now you’ve got this, which is cropping up and I believe more of those will be out there.”
Have you heard about America’s ‘largest illegal immigrant settlement’ that's said to be a hub of cartel activity?
I visited Colony Ridge for @realDailyWire to learn about a development that's home to 40k-75k people and is in the midst of a rapid expansion.
Here's what I found: pic.twitter.com/SqVkWKT7zM
— Spencer Lindquist 🇺🇸 (@SpencerLndqst) September 18, 2023
The call for action appears to fall on Texas Governor Greg Abbott, whose office told The Daily Wire the “potential wrongdoings” at Colony Ridge were unacceptable but also indicated that there wasn’t any additional action to be taken.
“The concerns raised about Colony Ridge are unacceptable,” said Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris, before listing actions that Abbott has already taken, including deploying “Department of Public Safety troopers to Colony Ridge to ensure the safety of Texans and enforce law and order,” and directing “the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to investigate any potential environmental issues, whether it be air, water, or land.”
Mahaleris said Abbott “requested the Attorney General’s office to issue subpoenas to investigate any legal violations,” while simultaneously pointing The Daily Wire to a recent article by The Center Square featuring claims by developer William “Trey” Harris and his attorney, Brent Lane, that “no investigations or pending violations exist” related to the development.
Abbott’s office also pointed The Daily Wire to what appears to be a marketing video from Colony Ridge, posted by the author of the Center Square article Bethany Blankley, showcasing the most presentable portions of the development before ending with the company’s corporate logo.
His office has yet to comment on the $1.4 million that Abbott’s campaign received from the developer.
LISTEN: “INSIDE AMERICA’S LARGEST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCLAVE”
Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), who represents a district adjacent to Colony Ridge, offered a much different assessment, calling the development a “pressing problem” for his constituents and the country as a whole.
“This is a pressing problem that needs immediate attention,” Babin told The Daily Wire. “I’m concerned about Colony Ridge. The bottom line here is that for the sovereignty of the United States for the safety of every American, we’ve got to close the loopholes that allow for the exploitation of America’s generous laws,” he added, also noting that he’s received calls from numerous constituents who are concerned about Colony Ridge.
“I’ll continue to use every avenue at the federal level to address it” Babin said.
Footage of Colony Ridge, including video shot by The Daily Wire and by Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies, tell a much different story than the promotional video put out by the development itself. Colony Ridge more closely resembles a third world shanty town with many of the homes in disrepair, flying the flags of foreign countries.
Part 2. Welcome to the largest illegal immigrant no-go sanctuary city in America. Colony Ridge in Liberty County Texas from an airplane today. Vast expansion clearing underway not pictured, w/ @Michael_Yon pic.twitter.com/whJ0ob55M2
— Todd Bensman (@BensmanTodd) June 14, 2023
It is unclear whether Abbott’s office intends to take any action to investigate Colony Ridge. He is already expected to convene a special legislative session next month to address education policy in Texas, and could add the illegal immigrant community as an issue.
Patrick, the Lieutenant Governor, said the massive growth of Colony Ridge is a result of the Biden administration’s border policy. “Where does Biden think the millions of people he has let into the country and dumped onto our streets live?” Patrick told The Daily Wire. “We need the border to be closed. Congress must pass strong immigration laws and reimburse Texas for the expenses we have incurred doing the Federal Government’s job.”
Abbott’s office signaled that he is not planning on taking any further action on the sprawling development, which is nearly the size of Washington, D.C., rapidly growing, and is allegedly being used by members of four different Mexican cartels.
Abbott’s office did say, however, that “the state will provide all resources and support needed to uphold the rule of law in Colony Ridge.”