Years before the nation’s largest influx of illegal immigrants and asylum seeks overwhelmed U.S. border checkpoints and eventually social welfare services across the country, Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott was at the forefront of busing new arrivals to blue states or sanctuary cities where he argued progressive politicians should experience firsthand the shortsightedness of their support for illegal immigration.

However, not all of those who arrived illegally in Texas in recent years were sent away. According to a new trove of financial records, Abbott may have been banking federal dollars in exchange for establishing an enclave for illegal immigrants known as Colony Ridge.

Those findings by the Daily Caller have fueled charges of hypocrisy against Abbott, a scion of the Texas GOP establishment who rose to office during the Tea Party movement and has wielded his state’s aggressive population growth and attraction of major new business endeavors as signs of sound state government buttressed by fiscally conservative policies.

That vision was called into question earlier this month when federal authorities raided Colony Ridge, marketed by Texas as the “fastest-growing” development in the country for new homeowners. More than 100 illegal immigrants were arrested in the raids, including individuals suspected of murder, drug trafficking, sexual predation, and a confirmed cartel member, the Daily Caller reports.

Boosted by generous tax credits as part of the federal “Opportunity Zone” program, Colony Ridge has been cited by Abbott’s critics as a consequence of unrestrained development that looked the other way while illegal immigrants managed to swell the ranks of a region that now counts more than 100,000 residents in 35,000 new properties. Past projections predicted that Colony Ridge was on track to add as many as a quarter of a million new residents to Texas in the next few years.

The Opportunity Zone program aims to spur development of low-income areas by offering investors significant tax breaks, including the deferral of capital gains taxes, according to the outlet.

Now that the adults are back in charge @RealTomHoman this is Colony Ridge, it’s the size of Manhattan and has become a haven for illegals and trafficking.

Congressman @RepBrianBabin office informed me back in 2020 the administration was going to move forward with raids.… pic.twitter.com/Ac0pCuZeJi

— Merissa Hansen (@merissahansen17) January 21, 2025

Abbott’s administration was a willing participant in the recent raids, carried out by Trump administration officials within the FBI and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. At the same time, the governor’s interest in spurring new land development generated a conflicting relationship with the developer for Colony Ridge, who made multiple donations to Abbott along their way to expanding the enclave just a half hour’s drive north of Houston.

The relationship between Gov. Abbott and Trey Harris, the lead developer of Colony Ridge, dates back to 2018 when Harris made an initial donation of $100,000 to his campaign, according to state campaign finance records. The significant sum was transferred just two days before the original deadline to spell out the dimensions for the proposed Opportunity Zone that would later become Colony Ridge.

On March 21st, the day of the deadline, Gov. Abbott wrote a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department echoing the developer’s request to be given tax credits for the project. After a series of additional sit-downs and follow-up letters, in July of that year, the IRS officially granted Colony Ridge its Opportunity Zone status.

Between 2018 and 2022, Harris ultimately donated at least $1.5 million to Gov. Abbott, making him the Republican executive’s 15th most prolific donor of all time. The donations led to invitations for Harris to attend private events, including a six-person dinner with Abbott as well as a “summer kickoff fiesta.”

Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Gov. Abbott, denied that Harris’s largesse led to any undue influence and pointed to letters from other stakeholders calling on the IRS to grant an Opportunity Zone designation to Colony Ridge. Mahaleris also rejected the Caller’s assertion that the development increased the state’s struggles with apprehending violent illegal immigrants who ultimately bedded down there.

“The Opportunity Zone designation did not create the problem in Colony Ridge. Governor Abbott is ensuring safety there and across the state. Governor Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to investigate any potential environmental issues in Colony Ridge, whether it be air, water, or land,” Mahaleris told The Daily Wire. “He requested the Attorney General’s office to issue subpoenas to investigate any legal violations, leading to Texas filing suit against the development.”

“The Governor also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to deploy tactical strike teams to work alongside our federal partners to enforce immigration laws throughout the state, including in Colony Ridge. Governor Abbott also provided additional funding for enhanced law enforcement presence in Colony Ridge,” he added. “These teams will coordinate with Homeland Security agencies to track down the thousands of illegal immigrants with active warrants across Texas and deport them from our country.”

The renewed focus on rooting out illegal immigrants from Colony Ridge has since led Harris to split with Abbott. Speaking with the New York Times last year, the property developer said Abbott is sour over not being paid enough to defend his investment when the news of immigration raids became harder to swallow.

“He’s a politician, it is what it is, he’s got to cover his butt first,” the Colony Ridge developer told the outlet. “But don’t expect a million dollars next year. It ain’t happening again, brother.”