BROWNSVILLE, Texas - SpaceX will be hiring another 4,000 workers this year at its Starbase rocket launching facility at Boca Chica, says the executive director of South Texas Manufacturers Association.

Mike Willis gave an overview of the manufacturing scene in the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas in his monthly report for February. After running through a number of plant closures over the past two years he ended on a very positive note.

“There's a lot going on. I think we're going to see a lot of announcements in the next year or so, up and down the Valley. So I am really pretty optimistic we'll see a lot more manufacturing job growth here than we've seen in a long time,” Willis said.

With regard to SpaceX, Willis stays in close contact with the company’s local leadership.

“On the good news front, SpaceX… and this may not be good news if you're a current manufacturer who's trying to hold on your workforce and find more people to hire… but SpaceX has confirmed that they're going to hire 4,000 more people in 2026 for Starbase.

According to Wikipedia, SpaceX had 13,000 workers as of September 2023. The company, whose proper name is Space Exploration Technologies, Corp., had an operating income of $8 billion in 2025.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., told the RGG Business Journal that he too has heard that SpaceX is hiring an additional 4,000 workers this year.

“Four thousand new workers? Yes, that had been in the offing. During our conversations, they're expanding. Plus the movement or transfer of their headquarters, meaning additional employees. So the growth continues. We're very, very excited about it, obviously,” Treviño said.

“It means we've got a lot of work to do. From an infrastructure standpoint. we need TxDOT to get cracking on Highway 4 sooner rather than later. There were too many people already on it. We’ve got to get that done. But these are good problems to have. These are great problems they have.”

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MCALLEN, Texas - There was a 30 percent decrease in loans for construction companies in the Rio Grande Valley in January, the executive director of the South Texas Builders Association reports.

Mario Guerrero visited Washington, D.C., recently to urge the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to stop ICE from conducting raids at construction sites. Those meetings in D.C. were set up by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar.

“We need to protect our economy. Right now in South Texas, we're being dramatically affected. In January, there was a 30 percent decrease in construction loans. Compared to 2025, there's been a 30 percent decrease in construction loans that have been acquired by contractors in order to go ahead and build homes. It's a big strain on the economy. We have companies that have filed for bankruptcy. It's no secret to the people that are here from the Valley. We’ve also had companies that are seeing 40% losses on revenues, lumber companies, tile companies across the Valley.”

Guerrero made those comments on a webinar with Congressman Cuellar and Monica Y. Martinez, executive director of Laredo Chamber of Commerce.

Guerrero also participated on a webinar hosted recently by Comite de 100, a group founded buy business leaders who wish to create “an immigration system that reflects the values of fairness, economic prosperity, and respect for all.”

Guerrero told the group that he will continue to call out local elected officials until ICE stops its raids of construction sites.

“I’m nowhere near a professional when it comes to politics, and maybe my tactics are a little rugged, but one of the things that I did down here in South Texas is I called out every elected official by name, and I also put their picture on a video,” Guerrero said, explaining his tactics in getting attention for STBA’s cause.

“I really believe that our elected officials should be our voice. I'm a civilian, and if you're an elected official, you should be our voice in the good and in the bad. So I stated in a video that was released by my team in early November of last year that we needed to hold each elected official accountable. (The meeting) was set up for 200 people, and we had close to 400 people show up. It was extremely packed.”

As a result to that meeting, STBA secured national media attention, Guerrero told Comite de 100.

“I do have a very strong presence in the media outlets. I also have a podcast that reaches hundreds of thousands of people. I don't believe I'm doing anything special, but I do believe that we need to hold the politicians that we put an office accountable for what they're voting for.”

The saddest thing builders are seeing is ICE agents racing 50 and 60 miles an hour in neighborhoods as they try to apprehend their construction workers, Guerrero said.

“The saddest part that we're seeing is these ICE agents are going 50, 60, miles per hour down a subdivision. Okay, we understand that you're probably trying to get to a job site that's inside that subdivision. But what are you going to do if you kill the child? What if there's a child riding a bike? And I have videos that I showed at that meeting. When you have these ICE agents going and driving these vehicles between 40 to 60 miles per hour in people's backyards that are not fenced we have a real problem.”

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian website. The attached audio comes from the Comite de 100 webinar.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley chapter of the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects is hosting a mixer in Brownsville on the evening of February 18.

It is titled: “Downtown Brownsville - A Master Plan Revitalization Mixer. It is being held at Boqueron Food & Wine Bar on E. Washington Street, starting at 5:30 p.m.

To learn more about I-LinCOP and the mixer, the RGG Business Journal met up with Oscar Garcia, regional vice president for Broaddus & Associates, and vice president for I-LinCP-RGV, and Doroteo Garcia, Jr., assistant city manager for the City of Brownsville.

I-LinCP is a Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that brings together contractors, architects, and engineers to improve the planning, design, and delivery of capital projects. The group started a chapter in the Rio Grande Valley in early 2025. It held two events in the Valley last year, one in McAllen and one in Weslaco. Now it is working to expand in Brownsville.

“We felt this would be a great opportunity to focus on some of the big projects that are happening in Brownsville, namely the downtown revitalization effort that's going on right now,” Oscar Garcia said.

Editor's Note: Go to the RGG Business Journal to read the full story.

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