Colony Ridge Agrees To Pay $68 Million In Penalties For ‘Illegal Immigrant Haven’

Colony Ridge, the Texas neighborhood that became the “fastest growing development” in the country thanks to a marketing scheme that targeted illegal immigrants, has agreed to pay $68 million in penalties in a joint settlement with the Trump administration and the State of Texas.

The developers of Colony Ridge, located just north of Houston, came under both federal and state investigation after a 2023 report by The Daily Wire exposed how it grew to nearly 100,000 residents with a business model catered to illegal immigrants. Its Spanish-only marketing campaigns were directed at foreign buyers.

The initial lawsuit was brought by the Biden administration, which said Colony Ridge “targeted Hispanic consumers with predatory loans” and “misled” them about what they were getting. Colony Ridge sold inexpensive plots of land at sky-high interest rates, with a type of loan available to illegal immigrants who are ineligible to apply for traditional loans. The buyers ended up in a “cycle of foreclosure,” creating a “nightmare for thousands of hardworking Hispanic families,” Biden’s Department of Justice said, treating the illegal immigrant population as the victim.

The settlement, however, was reached by the Trump administration and Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Its provisions appear designed not only to punish Colony Ridge, but also to end its ability to give loans to illegal immigrants, and even to supercharge deportations.

Included in the settlement is a pledge to require purchasers to present a valid Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card, or a valid visa issued after January 1, 2025. Also included is a pledge to spend $20 million to build a new law enforcement center inside Colony Ridge, where cartel activity has taken a foothold.

Want to support The Daily Wire’s journalism? Join DailyWire+.

According to Paxton, the funding can be used to facilitate deportations carried out by local Texas law enforcement.

“Colony Ridge endangered American citizens by allowing illegal aliens to run rampant on its streets, in its schools, and in its community. Now, it’s time for those responsible to pay a steep cost for their unlawful actions,” Paxton said. “My office will continue to bring the full force of the law against anyone who threatens the safety of our state or creates a safe harbor for illegals.”

Paxton’s office said the agreement “halts the development of a de facto illegal immigrant community.”

Among the other provisions are $48 million for infrastructure improvements to the development, which was plagued by flooding and sewage issues, and a promise to end its predatory lending practices.

“This DOJ will go after all lenders, financiers, and land developers who participate in schemes which ultimately encourage illegal immigration,” said Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “The changes required by this settlement will promote public safety, and affordable and sustainable homeownership in America, key priorities of this administration.”

LISTEN TO MORNING WIRE’S INVESTIGATION INTO COLONY RIDGE

Colony Ridge became a flash point for the illegal immigration crisis in America. The massive influx of illegal immigrants that came across the border during the Biden administration found a whole community that was ready to accept them.

The communities that surrounded them all of a sudden saw their lives changed. Their once-quiet towns were now down the street from shocking crimes, such as three previously deported illegal immigrants who were caught with 344 pounds of crystal meth, Mexican drug cartel leadership, and several brutal murders.

After President Trump took office, deportation raids captured more than 100 targets in Colony Ridge alone, The Daily Wire reported.