Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded on Thursday to a Daily Wire report about a land developer in Texas who has created an expansive settlement north of Houston where thousands of illegal immigrants are believed to have settled, saying that he, as president, will put an end to it.
Located in Liberty County, Texas, near the small town of Plum Grove, the Colony Ridge development is a sprawling community that, based on an analysis of publicly available information, is now over 60 square miles and nearly the size of the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Its population is estimated to be anywhere between 50,000 to 75,000, and it is growing rapidly thanks to a marketing plan targeted at Texas’ Hispanic population.
“How have we gotten to a point in this country where we are permitting and facilitating sprawling developments to house thousands of illegal immigrants who have broken our nation’s laws?” DeSantis wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Weak, spineless leaders. Our national sovereignty is at stake. We must stop excusing inaction at the top. I will end this.”
How have we gotten to a point in this country where we are permitting and facilitating sprawling developments to house thousands of illegal immigrants who have broken our nation's laws?
Weak, spineless leaders. Our national sovereignty is at stake. We must stop excusing inaction… https://t.co/Dzs4KwRWjX
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 21, 2023
The Daily Wire surveyed the development by helicopter to assess the true extent of its growth. The flight began in the wealthy Woodlands neighborhood, but it was only minutes before the designer homes and pools gave way to half-built homes, dilapidated trailers, and heaps of trash.
Houses on the ground fly the flags of foreign countries and many homes display their addresses on spray painted pieces of plywood. Many structures, some of which are not hooked up to running water, were under construction, while others were unfinished, but didn’t appear to be actively getting worked on. At least one plot of land didn’t have any structures at all, just a tent in the corner, nestled between shrubs. Stray dogs without collars could be seen trotting along the side of the underdeveloped streets.
Colony Ridge sprawls across nearly 60 square miles — about the size of Washington DC — and is 40 miles outside Houston.
Much of CR is a 3rd world shanty town, where foreign flags outnumber American ones.
But how do we know that it's a hotbed for illegal aliens? Let me show you. pic.twitter.com/fKeucLI1FU
— Spencer Lindquist 🇺🇸 (@SpencerLndqst) September 18, 2023
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.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
“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, it’s just unacceptable.”
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.”