Migrant Intimidation Masquerading as Consumer Protection

It came as quite a surprise to see a recent Justice Department press release announcing that its Civil Rights Division had secured a $68 million settlement from a real estate developer accused of targeting Hispanic borrowers through predatory land sales.

That’s because it stands in stark contrast to recent track record of the Division, which has seen a sharp drop in resolved cases under Trump 2.0 and most of those that have been completed have tended to target DEI and so-called reverse discrimination.

When you read the details of the announcement, the settlement with Colony Ridge LLC starts to look like less of an anomaly. First, it turns out that the case was originated by the Biden DOJ in 2023 along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB, which is in limbo amid the Administration’s moves to dismantle it, dropped its claims in the case rather than participating in the settlement.

Second, the $68 million price tag of the settlement includes nothing in the way of a civil penalty. Most of the total ($48 million) represents the cost of infrastructure improvements required to be made by Colony Ridge, which was accused of deceiving buyers about the flood risks in its subdivisions outside Houston.

The remaining $20 million is supposed to pay for increasing the law enforcement presence at the subdivisions. This is highly unusual in a consumer protection case. What is even stranger is that the settlement agreement specifies that these funds should primarily be used by the local sheriff’s office to help federal agencies with immigration enforcement. Colony Ridge also agreed to tighten its buyer identification procedures and “work with law enforcement to confirm that buyers are not on a published terrorism watch list and are not known members of a transnational criminal organization.”

At this point, it should be noted that the DOJ was not the only party settling with Colony Ridge. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which had sued the company separately, was also involved.

A press release issued by Texas AG Ken Paxton puts the immigration issue at the center of the case. In fact, it alleges that Colony Ridge was involved in “the development of a de facto illegal immigrant community.” Paxton goes on to make the incredible assertion that “Colony Ridge endangered American citizens by allowing illegal aliens to run rampant on its streets, in its schools, and in its community.”

These statements are the culmination of a rightwing campaign that since 2023 has depicted the Colony Ridge subdivisions as a haven for undocumented immigrants. While the Biden Administration had sued the company for exploiting Latino homebuyers, Texas officials depicted Colony Ridge as in effect a co-conspirator in a purported effort to create a an “illegal immigrant” town that was supposedly filled with gangs and cartel members.

The hysteria around Colony Ridge was fueled by unfounded allegations pushed by the likes of the immigrant-bashing Center for Immigration Studies and far-right U.S. Rep. Brian Babin. Once Trump was back in office, one of the first immigration enforcement surges occurred in Colony Ridge, apparently at the urging of Gov. Greg Abbott.

What all this indicates is that the settlement with Colony Ridge should not be taken as a sign that the Trump DOJ, much less the Texas AG, is now concerned about Latinos being targeted by predatory lenders. This case has little to do with consumer protection and is really just another way of demonizing and intimidating undocumented migrants, even when they are trying to live the American Dream by becoming homeowners.

web version: https://dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/8030