U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Tuesday that 118 arrests had been made in Colony Ridge, a majority Latino community north of Houston. However, a spokesperson for ICE in Houston later confirmed only one recent arrest in the area, raising questions about the agency’s initial report.
The announcement came just a day after Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated on social media that federal immigration enforcement was focusing an operation in Colony Ridge. Conservative state officials have previously claimed the area is a safe haven for people living in the U.S. without legal status.
In its social media post, ICE described the charges for the 118 arrests as including “criminal sexual conduct, homicide, theft, negligent manslaughter, child sexual abuse, crimes of moral turpitude, weapons offenses, and drug offenses.” However, it was unclear whether these arrests took place this week or were part of ongoing enforcement actions.
An ICE spokesperson in Houston later confirmed to Houston Public Media that only one arrest, that of 39-year-old Florentin Chevez-Luna, had occurred in the area. Chevez-Luna, an El Salvadoran national, had been deported multiple times and was arrested in nearby Plum Grove, not Colony Ridge itself. The spokesperson did not provide further details or respond to questions regarding the discrepancy between the social media post and the confirmed arrest.
At a Monday news conference near an elementary school in Colony Ridge, Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based immigrant advocacy group, highlighted the heavy presence of Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers in the area. Governor Abbott’s post indicated that DPS officers were working alongside federal agents in the operation.
Espinosa shared that several community members reported seeing arrests on Monday, creating a “chilling effect” within the community. However, the Texas Newsroom was unable to independently verify these claims during a visit to Colony Ridge.
Demes Lopez, a Colony Ridge resident, expressed concerns for his family’s safety, saying in Spanish, “We are afraid for our children, for our family, for our brothers who are suffering the consequences of the fact that immigration is here.” The fear of potential arrests continues to loom large over the tight-knit community as uncertainty remains about the full scope of the operation.
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