Law enforcement officers arrested 118 people last week in a large-scale illegal alien crackdown operation in Colony Ridge, Texas, a neighborhood that Gov. Greg Abbott described as an “illegal immigrant hotbed.”
The operation, which involved both state and federal law enforcement agencies, targeted illegal aliens with a criminal history in the unincorporated community located north of Houston.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), those who were arrested faced various criminal charges, including homicide, manslaughter, child sexual abuse, weapons offenses, and drug crimes. Some arrests were made during traffic stops, while others occurred at worksites within the area. One notable arrest included Luis Perez, a deported MS-13 gang member with a criminal arrest warrant for repeated sexual abuse of a minor, according to a report from Fox 26 News.
Residents reported seeing several traffic stops and law enforcement activity in the region, including at retail stores in or near Colony Ridge.
The community of 40,000 people has been at the center of controversy for its large population of illegal aliens, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Some lawmakers have raised concerns about possible cartel control in the area, but developers insist that most property owners are U.S. citizens.
Trey Harris, the co-owner of Colony Ridge, previously told FOX 26 in 2023 that lawmakers had been “misinformed” and emphasized that the majority of the property owners were legal American citizens.
Harris also said that only a small number of customers may be “undocumented.” He explained that he offers low-income families the chance to own homes, selling property with buyers responsible for building their homes. In 2023, Harris also said that he requires two forms of ID, a down payment of about $500, and a valid U.S. address, but he does not ask for a Social Security number, which he said is not required by state law for applicants.
According to a February 28 press release from the governor’s office, Texas Department of Public Safety officers assisted with the arrests last week as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star initiative.
“Texas will continue to partner with the Trump Administration in homeland and border security operations,” the governor stated in the press release.