Texas state authorities arrested an international fugitive and illegal immigrant who was wanted for murder and resided in Colony Ridge, the embattled land development north of Houston that has become infamous for systematically attracting illegal immigrants through its marketing and financial practices.
Splendora Police, working in conjunction with federal authorities with the Department of Homeland Security, arrested Leo Acosta Sanchez, an illegal immigrant wanted by international police for murder, after police performed a traffic stop.
The Splendora Police Department explained that it “apprehended a fugitive murder suspect wanted by Interpol” in a post on Facebook that included pictures of the suspect. Police added that Acosta Sanchez “had been illegally residing in our state and country” and was “known to travel between the City and her residence in Terrenos,” another name for Colony Ridge, a controversial land development that systematically attracts illegal immigrants through its financial and marketing practices.
“Acosta entered the United States as a nonimmigrant on Aug. 20, 2023, and violated the terms of her admission,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated, also noting that she is originally from Mexico. “She remains in ICE custody pending disposition of her immigration proceedings.”
Colony Ridge, the sprawling land development north of Houston, Texas where Acosta Sanchez resided prior to her arrest, has been the subject of a series of Daily Wire investigations detailing the development’s marketing to illegal immigrants. Led by brothers John and Trey Harris, Colony Ridge encourages potential buyers to “own land in the United States” and accepts foreign passports as a form of identification when offering loans.
With the massive influx of illegal immigrants has come a wave of crime. The development made headlines late last year after a teen was allegedly abducted at gunpoint inside Colony Ridge and was shot at as he fled his captors. After a special legislative session last Fall, Texas directed state law enforcement to step up its presence in the area to combat the violence that plagued the community.
The development has come under heavy legal scrutiny from both federal and state officials and was hit by a joint lawsuit from the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The two federal agencies accused the development of engaging in predatory financing and bait-and-switch sales while churning through borrowers “in a cycle of foreclosure.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also hit Colony Ridge with a lawsuit recently, with the Texas official telling The Daily Wire that “literally every sale” made by Colony Ridge could have been in violation of consumer financial protection law.
The arrest of Acosta Sanchez, who entered the United States in August 2023, comes as the country has faced the worst border crisis in its history. Officials have so far recorded over 9.5 million nationwide encounters and 1.7 million estimated illegal immigrant gotaways during Biden’s term.
