More Controversy Surrounds Colony RIDGE: 118 Arrested by ICE. Including Sexual Predators and Murderers

In a social media post, ICE said that 118 people had been arrested, including people with prior convictions that included homicide, theft and child sexual abuse

Earlier Tuesday, an ICE spokesperson in Houston released information about one arrest: 39-year-old Florentin Chevez-Luna, who had been deported three times, according to ICE. He was arrested on a warrant for alleged repeated sexual abuse of a minor from November 2008 to November 2016.

Another man arrested on homicide, had been deported from the country five times and has an active aggravated assault charge out of Maryland, according to deputies. LCSO stated suspect is affiliated with the recently designated foreign terrorist organization MS-13.

Perez is accused of murdering a man, possibly a roommate, on a small rural road near Plum Grove. He is charged with murder, and his bond was set at $5 million.

Colony Ridge, a majority-Latino development, is home to around 75,000-plus residents, Liberty County officials estimate l.ocated Colony Ridge is a massive, 33,000-acre subdivision developed by brothers John and William Harris who primarily marketed it to Latino families. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Texas attorney general's office filed separate lawsuits against the development company, accusing it of saddling residents with predatory, high-interest loans that often led to foreclosures.

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, a Liberty County Interdiction Unit initiated a traffic stop on a white panel van driven by Gerson Lopez Zuniga, a Hispanic male, with passengers Cruz Isidro Sandoval and Adan Aguirre Arzate, all of Liberty County, Texas.

Zuniga was found to be an illegal immigrant and was carrying a semi-automatic handgun in his waistband. During the traffic stop, investigators spoke with Sandoval, who reportedly admitted to possessing a large quantity of methamphetamine at a camper trailer in the 1600 block of Road 3542.

After obtaining permission to search the camper, investigators allegedly found 12 “iceberg lettuce” boxes containing approximately 156 kilograms (344 pounds) of methamphetamine.

A background check revealed that all three suspects were illegal immigrants and had been deported at least four times previously. They were arrested and taken to the Liberty County Jail.

Colony Ridge's illegal migrant development is overwhelming Cleveland ISD & Texas tax payers are footing the bill. For the 2023-2024 school year, Cleveland ISD’s adopted budget was $121.2 million, covering 12,286 students—a number that’s tripled since 2013 (3,336) due to Colony Ridge’s growth. The 2024-2025 budget isn’t fully public yet, but with enrollment likely exceeding 13,000 and inflation at 3-4%, it’s reasonable to estimate $130 million or more. A $250 million bond passed in May 2023 funds new schools and infrastructure, separate from the annual budget, repaid over decades via property taxes.

From 4,000 students in 2014 to 11,000 in 2022, projected to hit 22,000 by 2026. About 30% are English learners (EL), costing $3 million yearly for bilingual staff and programs. The district’s hired foreign teachers via visas to cope. A Huffines Liberty Foundation study claims educating illegal immigrants costs Texas $7 billion annually. For Cleveland ISD, if 20% of students (2,457 in 2023) are undocumented, that’s $24 million of the budget at $9,865 per student—though not all costs (e.g., EL programs) are unique to illegal immigrants.

How did Colony Ridge come to be? The Liberty County Municipal Management District No. 1 was established in 2017 through Texas House Bill 4341, spearheaded by State Representative Ernest Bailes and Senator Robert Nichols. Municipal Management Districts (MMDs) in Texas are typically created to fund improvements. The legislation set up the district as a special-purpose entity, a type of political subdivision in Texas meant to finance infrastructure and services—like roads, drainage, or public safety—in areas where rapid development outpaces what local governments can handle. HB 4341 laid out the district’s powers, boundaries, and governance, starting with a modest 5-acre tract owned by Colony Ridge Development, led by Trey Harris. The bill allowed the district to levy taxes, issue bonds, and annex more land—powers it’s since used to expand dramatically, covering thousands of acres as the Colony Ridge community grew to the size of Manhattan.

The text of HB 4341 itself is pretty standard for these kinds of districts: it defines the district’s authority under Texas Special District Local Laws Code, sets up a five-member board (initially appointed by the legislature), and outlines funding mechanisms like sales taxes or property assessments. What’s less typical is how it’s been applied—critics argue it’s morphed from a small-scale improvement district into a developer-controlled mini-government, a point of contention in lawsuits and public debates.