Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke out about the controversial Colony Ridge undocumented immigrant favela, a settlement outside Houston that has between 50,000 and 75,000 undocumented migrants and spans nearly 60 square miles, roughly the size of Washington, D.C.
In an interview with Michael Berry's radio show, Paxton said he had received a briefing on the favela and commented that it was "completely insane that they can set up these villages with illegal immigrants."
However, the attorney general stated that there is no clear path to address the problem or stop the growth of this favela that has led to an increase in crime in the area.
"The legislature could address this and should address this. Because right now, we don’t have a real clear path to being able to stop it, even though it’s completely insane that they can set up these villages with illegal immigrants," Paxton said.
"We can maybe affect the financing or the financial aspect of it to some degree but I don’t think right now the legislature has given me the authority to do anything about it," Paxton added. "So we’re looking at whether we have some authority to do something with deceptive trade practices."
The attorney general's statements come days after the Republican survived a historic and failed impeachment trial in the state legislature.
The attorney general is not the only conservative leader who has spoken out about Colony Ridge in recent days as the immigration crisis deepens.
For example, Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis blamed weak leadership for allowing and facilitating “sprawling developments to house thousands of illegal immigrants who have broken our nation’s laws.”
How have we gotten to a point in this country where we are permitting and facilitating sprawling developments to house thousands of illegal immigrants who have broken our nation's laws?
Weak, spineless leaders. Our national sovereignty is at stake. We must stop excusing inaction… https://t.co/Dzs4KwRWjX
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 21, 2023
The independent media Daily Wire, which conducted research on Colony Ridge, called the favela “a massive housing development north of Houston that’s become a hub for illegal immigrants thanks to financing methods that circumvent any need for proof-of-citizenship documents".
