On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized Colony Ridge for promoting illegal alien habitation in the state and criticized government figures who supported the expansion of the property.
Paxton outlines what his office has learned about the situation since initiating its own investigation in a letter to Republican members of the U.S. Congress who wrote to him last month expressing that it was “unthinkable that such an enormous settlement would be allowed to persist in Texas.”
“The development appears to be attracting and enabling illegal alien settlement in the state of Texas and distressing neighboring cities and school districts. This form of real estate development and financing has created an attractive opportunity for noncitizens to cross the border and settle in Texas.” the letter to Paxton read.
“…complaints from nearby communities about the development’s scale of growth and unmanageable externalities reveal that this unincorporated settlement has drawn far too many people and enabled far too much chaos for the current arrangement to be tolerated by the state.” the letter continued.
Paxton’s letter, however, also said that Representative Ernest Bailes and Senator Robert Nichols of the state had helped Colony Ridge by way of “a specific arrangement” that allowed it to “act virtually as its own city.”
The letter from Paxton also expresses concern that what is occurring in Colony Ridge might not be a unique incident.
“Texas has seen a growing trend of real estate developers buying huge quantities of undeveloped land, creating primitive subdivisions, and selling the bare lots in a practice often paired with offering minimal- down-payment, high-interest owner-financed loans. These loans require little identity verification.” the letter concluded.
[READ MORE: House GOP Withdraws Speaker Nomination for Jim Jordan]
