FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 12, 2026
Contact: Bekah Hinojosa, bekah@sotxejn.org or (956) 975-6634
Brownsville Community Opposes Toxic Oil Refinery Revived by Trump
South Texas Environmental Justice Network members protest outside the Port of Brownsville Commission’s press conference for the oil refinery project on Wednesday morning.
BROWNSVILLE, TX— On Tuesday, Trump announced his support for a dying oil refinery project, which the Brownsville community has opposed for over seven years because of the toxic emissions it would release into low-income communities in Brownsville and into the shrimp basin across the ship channel, damaging the coastal, sensitive ecosystems. The Brownsville community has vowed to continue opposing the dangerous oil project, which is blatantly a fraudulent corporation that the Port of Brownsville commission is wrongfully supporting. The zombie oil refinery, which Trump is reviving, has been rebranded four times: Jupiter Oil, ARX Energy, Element Fuels Holdings, and, most recently, America First Refining. This dangerous oil refinery project has faced investor pullouts, bankruptcy, a lawsuit, and community opposition.
In 2019, Brownsville residents packed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hearing for the oil refinery’s state air pollution permit, and they also delivered over 2000 public comments expressing clear opposition to the facility. Additionally, a group of Cameron County residents, referred to as Shrimpers and Fishermen of the RGV, represented by attorneys with Environmental Integrity Project, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and Earthjustice, challenged the state air permit for the oil refinery because of the toxic emissions the facility would be allowed to emit. The groups contesting the air pollution permit resulted in a change in the project’s plans. The proposed oil refinery, which had been declining for years, has changed ownership repeatedly. Under the name Jupiter, the oil project was sued into bankruptcy over unpaid debts, and it was then taken over by the company ARX Energy. In 2021, the sham ARX Energy corporation went under investigation by a trustee of the Dallas Bankruptcy Court. The Port of Brownsville commission, which voted to allow this new dodgy corporation ARX Energy to take over the Port’s site lease, provided little transparency for its constituents. In 2023, under the ownership of ARX Energy, the widely opposed oil refinery announced it had reached a final investment decision and persists in moving forward with the project. The dubious oil refinery project was then rebranded as a new company in 2024, called Element Fuels Holdings, and as of yesterday, the Element Fuels Holdings website redirects to the America First Refining oil refinery website. Trump is now forcing this zombie oil refinery on the Brownsville community using the marketing scam of “clean.” The Port of Brownsville commission has clearly demonstrated its bad business practices by supporting an oil refinery opposed by the community, which is owned by a corporation with a shady history. On Wednesday morning, Rio Grande Valley residents protested by holding up signs outside the Port of Brownsville commissioner’s press conference regarding Trump’s oil refinery. The community wants to make it clear to them that they must stop pushing for an oil refinery because it will release toxic emissions into the environment; a “clean” oil refinery is an oxymoron. By bringing in an oil refinery and other industries that will consume massive amounts of water, the Port of Brownsville is lacking foresight and continues to demonstrate bad business practices by pushing the Rio Grande Valley region towards a major water shortage catastrophe, as is currently being experienced in Corpus Christi.
Here’s a google map with the location of the America First Refining Oil Refinery and other fossil fuel sites in Cameron County.
In response, the South Texas Environmental Justice Network issued the following statement:
“The Brownsville community has opposed this oil refinery for over seven years since it was first proposed, and will continue to do so because it will release toxins into our air, waterways, and our environment. The oil refinery, which plans to operate across the ship channel from the shrimp basin, will severely harm the Rio Grande Valley’s shrimping and nature tourism industries, as well as destroy our sensitive ecosystem and worsen climate change. This dangerous oil refinery should be dead because of legal challenges; it’s a bad investment for the community and the environment, but the Trump administration has unfortunately revived it.”
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