The border along Texas has been a pathway into to the U.S. for decades. Illegal immigrants have crossed the Rio Grande River with the expectation that once they were on U.S. soil they were home free.

Unscrupulous land developers have aided illegal immigrants for generations by building colonias, or colony-like subdivisions, near border towns. The unincorporated communities that are more like shanty towns can have limited utilities, sketchy purchasing contracts, and little access to legal representation. The people living there often live in fear if they speak out and many lose everything when foreclosures hit them.

Developers have stepped up their game in recent years with one development outside Houston by building homes and streets to house illegal immigrants. U.S. citizens and local governments often have limited legal recourse to stop or shut down these developments. That may change after the top legal officer in Texas stepped in to take on a huge colony-like magnet for illegal immigrants.

From The Daily Wire:
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Colony Ridge, a sprawling development that’s become a magnet for illegal immigrants, alleging deceptive trade practices and fraudulent transactions.

The lawsuit comes as Colony Ridge, which allegedly uses marketing and financial strategies to attract illegal immigrants, continues to be buried in legal problems, facing multiple federal investigations and a joint lawsuit from the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

This development is huge, sprawling across roughly 60 square miles and surging to as many as 70,000 residents. Paxton did not mince words when stating his goal to stop the development.

“Colony Ridge’s business model is predicated on churning land purchasers through a foreclosure mill,” Paxton’s lawsuit states. “Namely, Colony Ridge targets foreign born and Hispanic consumers with limited or no access to credit with promises of cheap, ready to build land and financing without proof of income.”

Reports show that the development allegedly sold plots of land for down payments of $500 with interest rates of about 13%. Allegations against the development state it used a specific financing process that allowed foreign nationals living illegally in the United States to buy land.

When buyers can’t pay, they are sent packing and allegedly the foreclosed property is sold again. Paxton said this business model, allegedly supported by “false, misleading, and deceptive sales, marketing, and lending practices,” has benefited developers while harming surrounding communities.

“Colony Ridge has been flagrantly violating Texas law,” Paxton went on to allege. “The development profited from targeting consumers with fraudulent claims and predatory lending practices. Nearby communities have borne a tremendous cost for the scheme that made Colony Ridge’s developers a fortune.”

Costs to nearby communities include social services and taxpayer funds paying for children of illegal immigrants to attend school. From the air the development looks like a sprawling suburb with more streets and lots already plotted for expansion.

Colony Ridge is located about 40 miles northeast of Houston and has more than 40,000 lots of land with thousands waiting to be sold. The development is attractive to illegal immigrants with the promise of no credit, no problem, and low down payments.

Key Takeaways:

• Modern day “colonia” in Texas offered housing purchases to illegal immigrants.
• The promise of no credit, no problem attracted buyers in the tens of thousands.
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the colony developers for alleged fraud.

Source: The Daily Wire