Colony Ridge, Texas

"[2] U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas said, “As alleged in the complaint, Colony Ridge’s exploitative practice began with misleading advertising on platforms like TikTok and often ended with families facing economic ruin, no home and shattered dreams.

"[3] On March 14, 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Colony Ridge and its owner, John Harris, for "have built a sprawling community northeast of Houston on a foundation of false, misleading, and deceptive sales, marketing, and lending practices.

[7] The regulatory oversight over construction was relatively small,[8] as purchasers were not required to have Social Security numbers or credit scores,[1] and according to Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Washington Post, land was inexpensive; these factors caused the journalist to characterize the development as having "hallmarks of the oft-cited Texas Miracle".

[1] In 2015, residents of Plum Grove addressed the Liberty County Commissioners Court stating concerns with the expansion of Colony Ridge.

Media outlets related to the Republican Party accused the development of allowing drug cartels to establish control and deliberately trying to house people doing illegal immigration.

[13] J. David Goodman of The New York Times wrote that the controversy over Colony Ridge caused divisions in the Texas GOP, stating there were internal differences between "those who focus on business freedom, and others determined to control the border.

[11] In October 2023 Steven P. Mach, the chairperson of the Texas Public Safety Commission, stated that Colony Ridge "doesn't look a whole lot different than any other rural community, except for the concentration of people.

Steve McCraw, the head of TXDPS, stated that the law enforcement issues in Colony Ridge are similar to those in other parts of Texas and are not unusually pronounced.

"[14] In October 2023, Jeremy Wallace and Jhair Romero stated "Several who spoke to Hearst Newspapers this week said crime is rarely a concern in [Colony Ridge] [...] and that they had no idea their community had become the target of such anti-immigrant theories.

Wilder also stated that many houses that appeared in poor condition were actively being improved and that "Casual visitors can easily misinterpret Colony Ridge".