Greg Abbott Took $1.5 Million from Colony Ridge Then Helped Build It

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has tried to present himself as a border hawk, championing state-led crackdowns on illegal immigration and blasting Biden for failing to secure the southern border. But behind the scenes, Abbott helped pave the way for the explosive growth of one of the largest illegal immigrant enclaves in the country Colony Ridge after taking $1.5 million from its developer.

A detailed investigation revealed that Abbott personally petitioned the federal government to grant Opportunity Zone tax status to the area surrounding Colony Ridge. That decision supercharged the development’s expansion by giving investors massive tax breaks all while Colony Ridge marketed cheap land directly to illegal immigrants. The result? A sprawling, unpoliced community with over 35,000 properties and nearly 100,000 residents, many of whom are undocumented.

Meanwhile, murder suspects, cartel members, and drug traffickers have been arrested there in recent months. A recent raid netted 118 illegal immigrants in one day. Still, it took a national exposé and public outrage for Abbott to pivot and act like he was cracking down.

Here’s what happened:

• In March 2018, Abbott received a $100,000 donation from Celeste Harris wife of Colony Ridge developer Trey Harris just days before the deadline to nominate areas for Opportunity Zone status.

• On March 21, Abbott sent his official request to the U.S. Treasury, asking that the area including Colony Ridge receive the coveted designation.

• Within weeks, Harris and allies were at the governor’s mansion, dining and celebrating the project’s momentum. By July 2018, Colony Ridge was officially designated an Opportunity Zone.

From 2018 to 2022, Trey and Celeste Harris donated $1.5 million to Abbott’s campaigns, making Harris one of his top individual donors. All while the development marketed itself as the “fastest growing in Texas” and a prime investment thanks to its Opportunity Zone status.

Let’s be honest: Colony Ridge would not be what it is today without Greg Abbott’s blessing and federal lobbying. He helped flip the first domino, and now Texans are left cleaning up the fallout.

• Over 350 pounds of meth have been seized from the development.

• MS-13 gang members and previously deported murder suspects have been found living there.

• The area is now the subject of federal investigations from the DOJ, IRS, EPA, and others.

Even now, Abbott’s actions don’t align with his words. His office claims he wasn’t aware of Colony Ridge’s “business model” which openly advertised land ownership in the U.S. to foreign nationals, in Spanish. But even as crime soared, the state poured $40 million in law enforcement resources into the area in an attempt to salvage public trust.

It gets worse. State Senator Brandon Creighton, who attended Abbott’s 2018 lunch meeting with Trey Harris, has direct financial ties to Colony Ridge through his work with the Signorelli Company one of the development’s main builders. Creighton’s campaign also received tens of thousands in donations from Colony Ridge-aligned interests, adding another layer of cronyism to the scandal.

Now that the development is under legal fire from both state and federal agencies for alleged predatory lending, environmental violations, and fraudulent practices, its own founder, Trey Harris, has turned on Abbott.

“He’s a politician... don’t expect a million dollars next year,” Harris told reporters. “It ain’t happening again, brother.”

That’s the sound of a donor realizing he no longer needs to pay for access because the damage is already done.

Texas deserves better than politicians who talk tough on immigration while lining their pockets from developments that reward illegal entry and destabilize communities. The Colony Ridge scandal isn’t just an embarrassment it’s a roadmap of what happens when profit trumps patriotism.

Share this article or subscribe to our newsletter to help expose the truth behind the polished press conferences.