Colony Ridge, the sprawling Liberty County development north of Houston that became a lightning rod in Texas’ immigration fight, has agreed to pay $68 million in a joint settlement with the federal government and the State of Texas.
The lawsuit was originally filed during the Biden administration and was framed largely as a predatory lending case. But the final agreement, reached under President Donald Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, lands somewhere very different.
Under the settlement, Colony Ridge must spend approximately $48 million on infrastructure improvements, including drainage and sewage upgrades.
Another $20 million will fund construction of a new law enforcement center inside the development, and that’s where this stops looking like routine regulatory cleanup and starts looking like structural change.
Paxton did not mince words:
“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. 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.”
His office further stated the agreement:
“Halts the development of a de facto illegal immigrant community and ensures that Colony Ridge complies with Texas and federal law going forward.”
That language is deliberate and political.
The new law enforcement facility may support operations under Section 287(g), the federal program that allows local law enforcement agencies to perform certain immigration enforcement functions in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In plain terms, the deal embeds enforcement authority inside a development that spent years drawing scrutiny over who it was attracting and how it operated.
SEE ALSO: New: Spanberger Officially Pushes Virginia Off the Cliff Toward Sanctuary State Status
Here’s How Donald Trump Can Save Virginia (VIP)
The buyer rules are also changing significantly.
Under the agreement, purchasers must present:
A valid Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card, or a valid visa issued after January 1, 2025, as part of enhanced compliance measures designed to ensure adherence to state and federal law.
For years, Colony Ridge drew scrutiny over who it attracted and how it operated. Now the agreement includes enforcement authority.
When the Biden Department of Justice first brought the case, they framed it primarily as a consumer-protection matter involving Hispanic buyers allegedly caught in cycles of foreclosure.
The Trump-era resolution still addresses lending compliance, but it adds more documentation, more requirements, and more enforcement infrastructure that change the outcome.
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, emphasized that broader approach:
“The changes required by this settlement will promote public safety, and affordable and sustainable homeownership in America. This Department of Justice will continue to go after lenders, financiers, and land developers who participate in schemes that undermine communities and violate federal law.”
The contrast is hard to miss. What began as a consumer-protection case ended in enforcement-backed restructuring.
The agreement does not promise deportation sweeps, and it does not declare Colony Ridge closed to immigrants. It does, however, impose state-issued identification guardrails, place a law enforcement presence inside the community, and link the development directly to federal immigration cooperation mechanisms.
Civil housing litigation rarely doubles as an immigration enforcement pivot.
Here, it did.
The $68 million makes headlines. The ID rules may shape what comes next.
Editor’s Note: Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.
Help us hold these leftists accountable and expose their obstruction. Join RedState and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member