Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made over 100 arrests in the controversial Texas development Colony Ridge earlier this week in a massive raid that a Trump official claims is only “phase one” of a larger operation.
On Monday, ICE arrested 118 individuals in the Colony Ridge area, a sprawling 33,000-acre development about a half-hour north of Houston. Some of those arrested already had outstanding warrants. Others were detained during traffic stops.
Perez is allegedly a member of the vicious transnational gang MS-13 and had previously been deported on suspicion of murder.
According to an X post from ICE, the arrestees have either been accused or convicted of crimes such as homicide, manslaughter, sexual abuse of a minor, and offenses related to drugs and/or weapons.
Though the agency did not release details about most of the individuals, a spokesperson did note that one allegedly repeat offender was among them. Florentin Chevez-Luna, 39, was wanted for allegedly repeatedly sexually abusing a minor between November 2008 and November 2016, according to the Texas Tribune. Chevez-Luna, believed to be a native of El Salvador, had already been deported from the U.S. three times.
Luis Perez, 34, was also apprehended after the Texas Department of Public Safety received a report about a homicide in the area during the massive raid. Perez is allegedly a member of the vicious transnational gang MS-13 and had previously been deported on suspicion of murder, KRIV reported.
Trump border czar Tom Homan helped lead the Colony Ridge operation, and he appears satisfied with the result. “A lot of the people we’re interested in were located in that area,” Homan told Fox News.
“I know there’s one that was convicted of either homicide or murder,” Homan continued. Several known child sexual predators were likewise picked up in the raid.
Still, Homan believes this initial raid is only “phase one” of a “larger criminal investigation” planned for Colony Ridge.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott first announced the Colony Ridge operation, tweeting on Monday that “criminals & illegal immigrants” in Colony Ridge were “being targeted” by federal and state law enforcement. “Texas DPS Troopers & Special Agents are assisting Homeland Security Investigations,” Abbott’s post continued. “… I have worked with Tom Homan on this for months.”
‘It seems like they’re just pulling people over and then escalating that from there.’
Despite this announcement, Houston Landing seemed to downplay the operation. The outlet claimed that “conspiracy theorists” had largely cooked up associations between Colony Ridge and cartel activity. The outlet also cited DPS public information officer Sgt. Erik Burse, who indicated that Abbott’s tweet overstated the scope of the issue.
“We’ve been here for two years. It’s nothing new for what we’re doing,” Burse said. “All of a sudden you get a tweet, and it just blows up.”
The operation was apparently unusual enough to alarm immigration activists. Members of FIEL Houston held a press conference Monday to denounce it.
“It seems like they’re just pulling people over and then escalating that from there,” said executive director Cesar Espinoza.
The group also alleged that ICE officials had apprehended a woman at a Family Dollar store, but the store denied the allegation. “No Family Dollar customers or employees were detained during the visit,” a Family Dollar spokesperson said in a statement.
Colony Ridge executives said in a statement that they applaud federal and local law enforcement for arresting “criminal illegals in Texas.” They also claimed they “fully support these efforts,” KHOU reported.
Blaze Media has extensively covered the horrendous conditions and questionable lending practices at Colony Ridge. Last year, co-founder Glenn Beck hosted a Blaze Originals documentary about the problems there called “The Real Story of Colony Ridge.” A trailer for the documentary can be seen below. Click here for the full-length BlazeTV video.
– YouTube
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