DAVID MARCUS: Inside Colony Ridge, where illegal migrants hide and roads lead nowhere

CLEVELAND, Texas – Colony Ridge, the amerciable migrant and cartel-infested Texas lodging improvement raided by the Department of Homeland Security connected Monday, is 1 of the astir bizarre places I person ever been, and I get around.

My workfellow Elizabeth and I entered Colony Ridge from Plum Grove, wherever a execution took spot adjacent arsenic the feds were arresting astir 90 alleged amerciable migrant criminals this week, and astir immediately, the enactment started. 

My caput was buried successful my phone’s GPS erstwhile Elizabeth spotted 2 Texas Department of Public Safety cruisers and said, "Let’s travel them."

Once inside, Colony Ridge, astir 30 miles northeast of Houston, is simply a bizarre maize maze of dormant ends, with haphazard lodging spilled crossed it. It is astir incomprehensible. If you dropped maine successful the mediate of Colony Ridge without a map, I’m not definite that I could marque it out.

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But we didn’t request a representation arsenic we tailed instrumentality enforcement, and definite enough, 5 minutes later, successful the midst of the bizarre sprawl, they pulled up to 2 Liberty County Sheriff’s cruisers and 2 unmarked cars with lights flashing. 

Elizabeth and I walked toward a taco motortruck with a makeshift barroom to find 4 officers of the Department of Homeland Security constabulary talking to a flimsy antheral successful a t-shirt that work "Honduras" adjacent to a achromatic van with nary licence plate.

If you dropped maine successful the mediate of Colony Ridge without a map, I’m not definite that I could marque it out.

Trying to measure the situation, I approached 1 of the sheriffs, notebook and pen successful hand. "Excuse me," I began, to which immediately, though without disdain, the serviceman simply said, "No."

Nobody successful immoderate of the branches of instrumentality enforcement seemed anxious to reply immoderate questions.

The dilemma 1 is faced with successful Colony Ridge is, why? It is simply a sprawl of non-uniform lodging riddled with roads to nowhere, abandoned cars and trucks, immoderate fractional sunk successful the wetlands mud, which is wherefore the Environmental Protection Agency has launched an investigation.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that an amerciable migration cognition was taking spot adjacent Houston successful an country called The Colony, which resulted successful 118 amerciable immigrants getting arrested. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/ICE)

What is the intent of this place? Local concern proprietor George Cuellar told me, "It makes nary sense." It is hard to gully immoderate decision different than the information this full monolithic improvement was designed to beryllium sold to amerciable immigrants. It is an fantabulous spot to hide.

Another concern proprietor nearby, Floyd, who runs Fat Floyd’s BBQ, expressed sympathy for the residents. "Those radical enactment hard," helium told us, but added, "of course, you person to get the criminals out."

In the taco motortruck parking lot, the speech betwixt the DHS officers and the man, seemingly detained, was civil, astir cordial, with a fewer laughs. Then we saw determination was a pistillate successful the van, and 2 children, the small 1 cute arsenic a fastener successful his bluish and achromatic Honduras shot jersey.

We wondered if this household was astir to beryllium taken away. But aft overmuch muddled mingling by instrumentality enforcement and a fewer files checked out, the household was escaped to go, and the constabulary cars dispersed, deeper into Colony Ridge.

Patrons astatine George Cuellar's Wagon Wheel restaurant, successful Cleveland, Texas, accidental the amerciable immigrants person changed the community's character. (Fox News Digital)

Perhaps owing to the caller raids, determination was cipher astir successful the 60-square-mile development, not successful the scant dollar stores, not successful yards, not connected porches. It felt similar a Potemkin village, arsenic if it wasn't real, but alternatively immoderate benignant of ruse.

Many of the houses are ramshackle trailers, but others are boastfully large, with precocious gates, barbed ligament and fancy cars successful the driveway. Patriotism was displayed with flags each around, but it was not the emblem of the United States of America, it was the emblem of Mexico.

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I felt gladsome that the household was released. In my mind, I saw the kid being shuffled astir kid protective services, scared, and I’m gladsome that didn’t happen. But I don’t cognize if this household is present legally, if DHS simply decided they weren’t a threat, and truthful not a priority.

Inside Colony Ridge, the world is acold much analyzable than the either utmost successful the amerciable migration statement would acknowledge. These are quality beings, not pieces connected a crippled board.

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It’s hard to cognize what the solution to Colony Ridge volition be, if it volition beryllium weeded of criminals but allowed to remain, oregon if, done authorities oregon national action, it is dismantled. But either way, it stands arsenic testament to the destructive unit of our unfastened borderline policies.

Shutting down the borderline is an evident and bully archetypal start, but what of the millions already here? In Colony Ridge, and crossed America, that question inactive remains to beryllium answered. 

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