Thanks to the hard work of Operation Burning Edge, we are finally seeing some action against Colony Ridge, a huge illegal alien community north of Houston that has been growing unrestrained for many months now.
The federal government is suing the developers of Colony Ridge, which we now know contributed enormous amounts of bribe money to the Texas state legislature, including numerous U.S. congressmen and Gov. Greg Abbott himself, to rubber-stamp their approval for this massive illegal migrant development.
Located in Liberty County, Colony Ridge currently houses some 70,000 illegal alien settlers who were drawn there using the lure of a special owner-buyer financing scheme. That scheme allows illegals to purchase land in Texas without the usual mortgage requirements.
There are also rumors that Mexican drug cartels are operating in and out of Colony Ridge, hence the mounting reports of increased lawlessness there. There is no police presence in Colony Ridge, which means the development is operating more like the Wild West than a legitimate community of the United States.
Developer Terreno Houston, Republican owners fight efforts to shut down Colony Ridge
The development firm, Terreno Houston, and its owners, Republicans Trey and John Harris, are fighting tooth and nail to keep Colony Ridge alive – but will it work?
Reports indicate that 2024 could be the year that the Harrises will face fresh challenges pertaining to the loan, marketing and sales model that spawned Colony Ridge in the first place. A recent special legislative session called for by Gov. Abbott conveniently failed to address the matter, which later prompted the filing of a complaint on December 20.
The 11-count civil rights complaint, which was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice's (DoJ) Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, alleges that since at least 2016, Terrenos Houston and its affiliates have engaged in a large-scale "illegal land sales scheme" that used false statements and "predatory" owner-to-buyer loans to sucker tens of thousands of illegals into purchasing "flooding-prone home building lots despite extremely high interest, foreclosure and property-flipping rates," to quote the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
In its 45-page charging complaint, the bureau alleges that Terrenos Houston's operations in Liberty County represent a clear violation of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The developer also used sophisticated "bait-and-switch" fraud tactics on victims based on their "national origin."
Terrenos Houston also exploited language barriers that "turned their dreams into absolute nightmares," referring to the hordes of illegals who were promised a better life and an "American dream" if they purchased homes there.
"Colony Ridge lies to buyers," said Rohit Chopra, director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in an announcement, adding that salespeople at Colony Ridge would tell interested buyers that lots they were purchasing never flooded, even though they frequently do because they are located in flood plains.
Then there are the predatory interest rates reaching as high as 12.9 percent that were intentionally used to generate high-frequency property foreclosures. Following foreclosure, the taken-back properties would then be flipped for extra profit.
According to the independent journal Houston Landing, of the 35,000 properties thus far sold in Colony Ridge, nearly half of them have already ended up back in the hands of the company.
"It's a garbage dump and the crime from these developments spills out into the surrounding communities," one upset commenter wrote. "I've lived out here since before any of these developments existed, and it was a very peaceful and safe area."