At least 118 people were arrested during an immigration operation in Monday in Colony Ridge, according to a social media post by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Representatives for ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Department of Public Safety, which all participated in Monday’s enforcement operation about 40 miles northeast of Houston, did not respond to repeated requests for additional information about the arrests.
A spokesman for ICE said he could not comment beyond what the agency posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, and could not answer emailed questions about how many of those arrested remain in custody, how many were released and how many people were arrested on existing warrants. Representatives also did not answer whether those Colony Ridge residents arrested were in the custody of federal officials or local law enforcement.
The federal agency wrote that residents of the sprawling, 33,000-acre Liberty County development were charged with an array of serious crimes, including “criminal sexual conduct, homicide, theft, negligent manslaughter, child sexual abuse crimes of moral turpitude, weapons offenses and drug offenses.”
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Colony Ridge, a majority-Latino development, is home to around 75,000-plus residents, Liberty County officials estimate.
The development has been the target of Texas Republican leaders and anti-immigration activists for the past two years. The development also has been targeted by conspiracy theorists alleging it is a hotbed for Mexican drug cartel activity, although both local law enforcement and DPS officials have said that is not the case.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday’s operation on X and wrote that he and ICE Executive Director Tom Homan had been planning a crackdown on Colony Ridge for months.
Federal agents entered storefronts and questioned passersby, while Texas DPS officers pulled over an unknown number of individuals during traffic stops throughout the day.
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Liberty County Sheriff Office’s chief deputy, Billy Knox, told Houston Landing that only two individuals were booked in that county’s jail on Monday. One was brought in on immigration-related charges by DPS and the other, a murder suspect, was arrested in the development and is being held in lieu of $5 million bail.
“It’s just ironic that he was arrested when (DPS and ICE) were doing the operation in there yesterday,” Knox said.
In addition, federal agents arrested Florentin Chevez-Luna in Colony Ridge on a previous arrest warrant for sexually abusing a minor. The agency released a statement Monday saying the 39-year-old previously had been deported.
The chief deputy said the county jail only holds 285 inmates and as of Monday there were only 15 beds available.
“We would not have been able to hold ‘em,” he said.
Representatives for immigration nonprofit Familias Immigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha (FIEL) said the organization was contacted by at least six families looking for loved ones arrested on Monday.
Five of the families told FIEL their family members were arrested during traffic stops by police, but when they looked for them at the county jail, they were not booked there.
“It’s terrifying for the family to arrive home and know that your family members, your loved ones, were arrested,” Alain Cisneros, FIEL’s campaign coordinator, said in Spanish. “Not being able to find them, and having to ask and beg authorities to tell you where your family is.”
Cesar Espinosa, the organization’s founder, also was pulled over by DPS in Colony Ridge on Monday, but was let go.
The nature of Monday’s operation, and multiple social media videos depicting law enforcement arresting residents, will have a negative effect on community trust with local police, Cisneros said.
“They’re not going to trust them ever again,” he said. “They know they’re not only taking criminals, they’re taking the man who changes your tires. … If they’re taking him, they’ll take us too.”
Knox said the sheriff’s office did not participate in the state and federal immigration enforcement operation, and any deputies who responded to traffic stops yesterday were simply responding to calls for back-up.
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In addition to concerns about some residents being in the country illegally, Colony Ridge is being sued by the Department of Justice and the state of Texas. Owners John and William “Trey” Harris are accused of targeting largely Latino land buyers in what Attorney General Ken Paxton has called a “bait-and-switch” sales scheme.
John Harris has called the lawsuits baseless and inflammatory. Through a spokesperson on Monday, Harris said he supported the law enforcement operation.
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