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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 1, 2026
Contact: Bekah Hinojosa, bekah@sotxejn.org at 956-975-6634
Rio Grande Valley Community and Tribe Oppose US Fish & Wildlife Giving Away Habitat to SpaceX
The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe, and Rio Grande Valley residents submitted public comments to the US Fish & Wildlife Service urging it to deny SpaceX’s proposal to take over 712 acres of wildlife habitat.
Brownsville, TX—On Tuesday, the South Texas Environmental Justice Network (SOTXEJN), the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and Rio Grande Valley residents submitted public comments on behalf of 3,392 individuals, urging the US Fish & Wildlife to deny SpaceX’s proposal to take over 712 acres of wildlife habitat on Boca Chica. The attorneys representing the SOTXEJN and the Tribe submitted comments detailing deficiencies in the draft environmental assessment prepared by the US F&W for the land proposal, such as the destruction of a wildlife corridor for endangered species and the risks posed by allowing SpaceX to expand and further colonize Boca Chica lands. Rio Grande Valley organizations and residents have publicly denounced the proposal. They will do everything they can to prevent the proposed land exchange from moving forward because it would mean more deadly SpaceX rockets threatening the low-income residents with explosion risks, destroying the remaining habitat on Boca Chica, and continuing to restrict Boca Chica beach access for locals.
“Every Rio Grande Valley elected official who did nothing to oppose US Fish & Wildlife and the Trump Administration’s attempt to give away over 700 acres of vital Boca Chica habitat, so Elon Musk can blow up rockets that threaten our homes’ foundations and pollute the ecosystem should be shamed,” said Bekah Hinojosa with the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. “Rio Grande Valley residents oppose Elon Musk’s colonization of our wildlife, beach, and sacred lands for SpaceX’s dangerous and unnecessary rockets. We urge the US Fish & Wildlife to listen to our community’s pleas and deny SpaceX’s 712-acre land grab.”
“U.S. Fish & Wildlife has done an insufficient NEPA review of a terrible deal. This exchange, which results in a net loss of public land and gives away property to a quintessentially bad neighbor, fails to provide a net conservation benefit to the refuge, and thus violates the agency’s own policies. The draft Environmental Assessment reveals that the true purpose of the deal is to benefit SpaceX, not the Rio Grande Valley people,” said Attorney Marisa Perales.
The Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (Esto’k Gna), led by Tribal Chair Juan B. Mancias, is opposing the expansion of SpaceX operations in South Texas, citing destruction of sacred lands and lack of federal consultation.
“Elon Musk and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are allowing the destruction of our lands and ecosystems in pursuit of space ventures, while neglecting the responsibility to protect what is here,” said Tribal Chair Juan B. Mancias. “That reflects a colonizing mentality, taking from living lands without consent. The Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe opposes the SpaceX land grab that will destroy 712 acres of our sacred lands, for which we were never consulted.”
The Tribe states that approximately 712 acres of culturally significant land are being impacted without meaningful consultation and is calling for an immediate halt to further land disturbance, full tribal consultation, and a comprehensive review of environmental and cultural impacts.
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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
The 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/
South Texas Environmental Justice Network and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe are represented by Perales, Allmon & Ice, P.C.