Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) responded this week 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 Democrats “must stop” creating the incentives that are causing the problem.
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.
Barrasso, who is the third-ranking member in the Senate Republican leadership as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, highlighted the piece in post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Joe Biden surrendered our Southern Border to illegal immigration and set up a welcome wagon for criminals, gangs and drug dealers,” said Barrasso. “Democrats must stop the incentives that fuel this crisis and secure the border.”
Joe Biden surrendered our Southern Border to illegal immigration and set up a welcome wagon for criminals, gangs and drug dealers.
Democrats must stop the incentives that fuel this crisis and secure the border. https://t.co/rjgYvrPGeH
— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) September 22, 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.
Barrasso slammed that Biden administration during press conference with Senate Republicans this week, saying that President Joe Biden “has surrendered our southern border to drug dealers, criminal cartels, and gang members.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
“We’re still awaiting numbers from last month, but it looks like it’s going to be an all-time high record-breaking month of over a quarter of a million illegal immigrants coming into the United States,” he said. “They get here and then they vanish. That’s what we are dealing with in the United States today.”
Barrasso said that the Mexican cartels are making billions of dollars smuggling illegal aliens and illicit drugs into the U.S.
“Criminals are coming from all around the world, Africa, the Middle East, and China,” he said. “It used to be that border states and border cities were some places in Texas or some places in Arizona — no, not anymore. The city council in Chicago and the mayor of New York City have actually said that their own cities are being destroyed by the illegal immigrants who continue to come. And remember, these are sanctuary cities.”
“Fentanyl is a major killer all across the United States,” he continued. “And what does our incompetent president and the Democrats in the Senate do? They keep their heads buried in the sand and as we’ve just heard from Senator Haggerty, now they want to defund ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. What do they want to do with the money? They want to set up a Welcome Wagon, to set up housing and services for those folks.”
“Republicans have a much better idea, it’s Secure The Border Act of 2023,” he said. “That legislation includes the technology, the manpower and the physical barrier that we need. That’s what we need to do to protect our communities, provide safety in America, and actually secure our border.”
Billion-dollar cartels are flooding our border with illegal immigrants & deadly drugs that are affecting our entire country. Instead of stopping them, @JoeBiden wants to defund @ICEgov & set up a welcome wagon for them. Republicans will continue to fight to secure our border. pic.twitter.com/lBSuCdB2xK
— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) September 20, 2023
Related: DeSantis Responds To Daily Wire Report On Illegal Immigrant Development In Texas: ‘I Will End This’