FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 28, 2025
Contact: Bekah Hinojosa at bekah@sotxejn.org or (956) 975 -6634
Rio Grande Valley Organizations and Tribe Celebrate Stopping Texas Bill for SpaceX
BROWNSVILLE, TX. – This morning, the Texas House Representative committee voted against House Bill 4660 that would have unfairly granted SpaceX’s Starbase town primary control over Boca Chica Beach. TX Rep Janie Lopez filed this bill, and Senator Adam Hinojosa filed a similar bills. The residents of the Rio Grande Valley, the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and local organizations, including the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and Border Workers United, rejoiced today, recognizing this as a significant victory in preserving access to Boca Chica Beach for future generations. For weeks, these organizations have sent approximately 500 letters to Texas representatives, made dozens of calls to State Senators and House Representatives, dropped cards at the Capitol, and protested outside Senator Adam Hinojosa’s office to oppose these bills HB 4660 and HB 4661 for SpaceX. The City of Port Isabel passed a resolution opposing these bills, and statewide organizations, such as Surfriders and the Texas Sierra Club, registered their opposition. Residents have vowed to continue speaking up about the destructive impacts of SpaceX operations and access to Boca Chica Beach.
Organizations will celebrate this Saturday, May 3rd, by hosting a Save Boca Chica Beach community event on Boca Chica Beach from 4:00 – 7:00 PM, where residents will gather to continue demanding access to the beach and speaking out against SpaceX’s plans to establish the company town of Starbase through an election this month. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network recently acquired, through a records request, a map of the voting district for the proposed Starbase city, which shows a crudely drawn boundary encompassing approximately 200 residents, mostly SpaceX staff, who would be eligible to vote in the May 3rd election. These community organizations have also taken action to speak out against this company town election.
In response, Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, issued the following statement:
“Today, the Rio Grande Valley community successfully stopped a Texas Lege bill pushed by SpaceX lobbyists. Elon Musk’s SpaceX company will not have control over our Boca Chica beach and be empowered to slap beachgoers with criminal charges. Stopping these bills should send a clear message to all public officials; they are supposed to represent the people. Public and regulatory officials must listen to our concerns that the facility is harming our wildlife habitat, homes, waterways, and daily lives. We strongly oppose Elon Musk’s dangerous SpaceX rocket facility, his Starbase company town election, and his attempted beach takeover.”
In response, Juan Mancias, the Tribal Chairman for the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, issues the following statement:
“¡Exito! ¡Exito! We are the People, and we are the Change. We continue to defend our sacred ancestral lands and our inherent rights to access Boca Chica Beach, the mouth of the river, and this beautiful area that SpaceX is polluting and trying to steal from our people and our
communities. We refuse to be collateral damage for corrupt corporation’s profits. We will also call out any politician and elected official in Texas or Cameron County who subordinates themselves to the will of a mediocre corporation and ignores the original people of the land and our communities. Corporations are not human, but the people are.”
In response, Rene Medrano, a Brownsville community member, issued the following statement:
“This is great news! We must continue to pursue public access to Boca Chica Beach. We must have equal access to Boca Chica beach because the beach is part of our family.”
In response, Lupita Sanchez, director of Border Workers United, issued the following statement:
“The preservation of Boca Chica Beach free access is of great importance to a diverse group of people, including visitors, tourists, and local residents who cherish the memories they have created in this special place. The recent Texas House Representative vote against House Bill 4660 marks a significant trump in safeguarding and maintaining the natural habitats and wildlife of the area. This decision ensures that future generations will also have the opportunity to experience the beauty and wonder of these natural spaces, and guarantees the continued enjoyment of Cameron County’s breathtaking environment.”
Background: For years, organizations in the Rio Grande Valley, along with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, have opposed the excessive closures of Boca Chica Beach enforced by the Cameron County Commission and the Texas General Land Office. Residents have also raised concerns about the earthquakes, illegal dumping of polluted water, and wildfires caused by SpaceX operations and rocket testing on Boca Chica beach.
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South Texas Environmental Justice Network supports the leadership of frontline BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. It includes numerous organizations, campaigns, individuals, and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribal leadership from the South Texas region that challenge the status quo and corporate power to build a future aligned in values, principles, and praxis that centers on the social and environmental health of local Native and BIPOC communities living in reciprocal relationships with our shared natural home. https://www.facebook.com/SOTXEJN
Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas is one of the aboriginal, autochthonous, Indigenous peoples of Texas. The lands in question are within the original boundaries of the traditional homelands of the Carrizo Comecrudo Nation, who were also living in the area now known as the Rio Grande Valley, the mouth of that river, Boca Chica and its surrounding environs with many villages on both sides of the river as recorded by the first Spanish incursions into the area. http://www.carrizocomecrudonation.com/
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