Roughly 90 illegal migrants were arrested in and around Colony Ridge, Texas, a largely Hispanic development outside Houston, during an operation targeting criminal and illegal migrants.
Early Monday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on X that Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers and special agents were assisting Homeland Security Investigations with the operation after months of planning.
“Border czar” Tom Homan, sat down with Fox News after he joined the operation and said it was part of a “larger criminal investigation.”
While Homan could not reveal too many details about the investigation, he referred to the dozens of arrests Monday as “phase one.”
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“This is something a little different today,” Homan said. “You know, this is a larger criminal investigation into a network. And a lot of the people we were interested in, were located in that area.”
According to Homan, he is still waiting on the exact number of arrests but said the majority of the illegal migrants taken into custody had criminal backgrounds.
“The last number I saw was around 69 criminals,” Homan said. “I know for a fact, several child sexual predators were arrested.”
Homan said some of the illegal migrants arrested had warrants and were arrested at worksites, while others were picked up during traffic stops conducted by DPS.
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“It wasn’t a community being targeted,” Homan said. “We have specific targets we are looking for. We know exactly what we are looking for and the crimes they had committed during this operation.”
According to Homan, their priority is criminal illegal migrants and national security threats. However, he has made it clear that anyone in the country illegally is also at risk of deportation.
“Just because you prioritize one thing doesn’t mean you forget the other,” Homan said. “There are laws on the books. There is nothing in the Immigration and Nationality Act that says you got to commit yet another crime to be arrested by ICE officers. It is a crime to enter this country illegally. If you are in the county illegally, you got a problem. But again, we are going to prioritize criminals and public safety.”
Activist groups were seen in Colony Ridge reminding residents of their rights. “Remember you don’t have to open the door, remember to remain silent,” nonprofit FIEL Houston wrote on social media.
The developers are no strangers to media attention, facing federal and state lawsuits accusing them of exploiting Latino homebuyers with false marketing.
The Colony Ridge CEO, John Harris, told Fox News he was fully in support of this operation.
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“We are grateful for the efforts of Governor Abbott, Tom Homan and all those involved in rooting out criminal illegals in Texas,” Harris said in a statement. “In fact, DPS officers have been working throughout Colony Ridge for more than two years. They know who the bad guys are, so we are fully supportive of these efforts. We also know that Colony Ridge remains one of the safest communities of its size anywhere in Texas, and we are proud of our residents and their desire to make this community a vibrant, happy, and safe place to live.”
Last week, three illegal migrants who had been deported at least four other times were arrested near Colony Ridge, after deputies found 350 pounds of meth, according to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
On Feb 12, deputies conducted a traffic stop during an investigation into the distribution of large amounts of methamphetamines.
The driver of the van was identified as Gerson Lopez Zuniga and the two passengers identified by authorities as Cruz Isidro Sandoval and Adan Aguirre Arzate.
Among those arrested, ICE tells Fox News, was Florentin Chevez-Luna, a 39-year-old three-time previously deported criminal alien from El Salvador. ICE Homeland Security Investigations and Texas DPS took him into custody in Plum Grove, Texas. According to ICE, he had a criminal arrest warrant for alleged repeated sexual abuse of a minor over an eight-year period from November 2008 to November 2016.
According to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, one of the passengers admitted to possession of a large amount of meth at a camper trailer.
Investigators said they located 12 “Iceberg Lettuce” boxes that contained approximately 156 kilograms (344 pounds) of methamphetamines.
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