State Rep. Janis Holt says Trump administration will ‘attack’ immigration in Colony Ridge

A newly elected state representative this week suggested Colony Ridge, a 33,000 acre majority-Latino residential development in Liberty County, will be a focus of immigration enforcement for President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration. 

Homan, who ran the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for nearly two years under the first Trump administration, has been chosen by Trump as his “border czar.” He will be tasked with carrying out the incoming president’s mass deportation plans.

“I enjoyed my conversation with Border Czar Tom Homan. We will coordinate with his office and attack this issue head on (sic),” Holt wrote. It is unclear where and when the photo was taken. 

Holt did not respond to requests for comment. 

This is not the first time elected officials have taken an interest in enforcing immigration law in Colony Ridge. 

In September 2023, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick responded to months of conservative media reports by flying a helicopter over the development with the Texas Department of Public Safety and affirmed right-wing critics’ complaints that Colony Ridge is a borderline “sanctuary city” for immigrants citing misleading and false crime statistics.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Legislature to address Colony Ridge during a special session in the fall of 2023, but lawmakers only increased the number of DPS officers patrolling the development.

Alain Cisneros, a campaign coordinator for FIEL, an immigrant rights nonprofit, said Holt’s post about Colony Ridge is an example of politicians trying to score points with their party on hot topics like immigration. 

“What we see is that it’s causing another psychosis, a panic, (that) everything is related to mass deportations,” Cisneros said in Spanish.

Jasmina Yadyra, who immigrated from Honduras 25 years ago and moved to the Liberty County development in 2021, said on Friday there should be stricter regulations surrounding immigration to the United States.

“Just as good people come, bad people also come and then they go to their home countries as if nothing happened,” she said in Spanish. “There should be order.”

The majority of Colony Ridge residents want quiet lives, Yadrya said.

“This is a place where we want to live in peace,” she said. “It is a very beautiful place that must be taken care of. It’s our home since we immigrated and we want to contribute to a grand nation like the U.S.”

Former residents Keilah and SuEllen Sanchez commended Holt’s attention to Colony Ridge. The sisters said Holt marks a significant shift from her predecessor, former Rep. Ernest Bailes, who they believe was aligned directly with the development.

“However, there are critical factors that must be considered when addressing Colony Ridge and its impact on both its residents and the broader community,” they wrote in a text message to the Landing. “It is important to recognize that while illegal immigration is a significant issue in Colony Ridge, not all residents are undocumented immigrants.”

Cisneros said years of right-wing rhetoric surrounding Colony Ridge has unfairly blamed residents for violence and disorder while ignoring what she called a predatory lending scheme that has taken advantage of the development’s residents over the past decade.

John and William “Trey” Harris, who did not respond to a request for comment, own the development, which is being sued by the Department of Justice and Texas. The brothers are accused of targeting largely Latino land buyers in what state Attorney General Ken Paxton has called a “bait-and-switch” sales scheme.

John Harris previously told the Landing the lawsuits were baseless and inflammatory.

“​​Our business thrives off customer referrals because landowners are happy and able to experience the American Dream of home-owning property,” he said in a December 2023 interview.

The Sanchez sisters said Colony Ridge’s practices have created a humanitarian crisis.

“The human cost cannot be ignored,” they wrote. “The majority of the residents are hardworking individuals striving for a better life, but they are victims. Despite paying taxes, these residents face systematic neglect and are left without the benefits they were led to expect.”

Cisneros said that if Texas law required Colony Ridge to properly inform potential residents that their homes were in a flood zone or that they were responsible for their own light, water, drainage, and gas connections, many residents would not have moved to the development.

“The people would not have gone to live there,” he said. “And they wouldn’t have been complaining about this as an immigrant problem. It’s a planning problem.

 “And all of this snowballs and makes the Latino families that live there look bad,” Cisneros added. “That’s the real problem.”

Holt, a longtime state GOP activist, defeated Bailes in the Republican primary in March after receiving endorsements from Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz and Trump. Holt will be sworn into office on Tuesday, the first day of this year’s legislative session.

Bailes drew the ire of state and national Republicans after voting to impeach Paxton and voting against Abbott’s push for school vouchers. Primary campaign ads hammered Bailes for those two votes and attempted to tie him to the Colony Ridge development because he accepted a $1,800 campaign donation from developer Trey Harris. 

Holt campaigned on a promise to support school vouchers, push for stricter abortion restrictions and address the “large illegal immigrant settlement” of Colony Ridge.

The Trump-Vance Transition issued a brief general statement in response to a request to interview Homan, making no mention of Colony Ridge.  

“President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to stop the invasion of illegal immigrants, secure the border, and deport dangerous criminals and terrorists that make our communities less safe,” spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt wrote. “He will deliver.” 

For Trump’s mass deportation plans to work, he will likely need the cooperation of local law enforcement. 

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Liberty County Precinct 6 Constable, polices Colony Ridge. It does not participate in a federal program that allows local law enforcement to perform federal immigration activities, such as issuing holds on detainees.

It also does not check the immigration status of the people in its jail unless they have been charged with a violent felony. If a detainee is found to be living in the country illegally, jail staff contact ICE, to see if the agency wants to take the incarcerated person into custody for possible deportation. 

Liberty County Sheriff Robert “Bobby” Rader did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. His second in command, Chief Deputy Billy Knox, said Rader likely would wait to see “what hand he is dealt” before making a decision. 

Knox also said the sheriff has been fielding questions from reporters, inquiring about the proportion of incarcerated people who have had ICE detainers placed on them. Less than 10 percent of Liberty County’s jail population last year had ICE holds, jail records show.

“It’s not the majority of (incarcerated people), that’s for sure,” Knox said.

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