{"id":766693,"date":"2026-07-16T17:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766693\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:42:08","slug":"brownsville-lands-3-2b-ai-drone-tech-company-community-members-question-the-impact-it-could-bring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766693\/","title":{"rendered":"Brownsville lands $3.2B AI drone tech company. Community members question the impact it could bring."},"content":{"rendered":"

Subscribe to The Y\u2019all<\/a> \u2014 a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.<\/p>\n

BOCA CHICA BEACH \u2014 As a child, Christopher Basaldu, a lifelong resident of Brownsville, would take family trips to Boca Chica beach, a quiet stretch of shore 30 miles east of Brownsville. The small residential community surrounding it, known as Boca Chica Village, was quiet with little development.<\/p>\n

The area has since been incorporated as the city of Starbase. The quiet village is now a bustling, high-end, gated residential community that predominantly houses employees of SpaceX, Elon Musk\u2019s aerospace company that literally put the community on the map. <\/p>\n

Long gone are the quiet drives to the beach, as the road that leads to it is now cluttered with construction and cranes. <\/p>\n

\u201cPart of being able to go out to Boca Chica Beach was to get away from construction. It was to be closer to nature,\u201d said Basaldu, who also co-founded the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. \u201cThat\u2019s becoming less and less possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

After SpaceX planted its stake in the ground more than 10 years ago, Brownsville has once again landed a major economic coup with Saronic Technologies, an Austin-based manufacturer of artificial intelligence-powered drone vessels, adding defense technology to the city\u2019s portfolio. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, Saronic announced the company would build its naval shipyard at the Port of Brownsville, a $3.2 billion investment in the region. <\/p>\n

City and economic leaders have welcomed new companies like Saronic with open arms, hoping they are the answer to the region\u2019s poverty woes. But critics like Basaldu worry that inviting high-tech businesses will only benefit the wealthy and have consequences, such as environmental damage and socioeconomic inequity. <\/p>\n

Despite SpaceX boosting the average weekly wage in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area by about 53% \u2014 outpacing the state\u2019s increase of 45% \u2014 it still remains one of the most disadvantaged areas in the U.S. The city\u2019s poverty rate hovers around 24%, which is more than double the national poverty rate.<\/p>\n

Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevi\u00f1o wants outside investors to see beyond Brownsville\u2019s reputation as an impoverished city and more as an area of innovation. SpaceX kickstarted that journey, Trevi\u00f1o said, and the region is emerging as the state\u2019s newest tech hub.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a firm believer \u2026 that we were nowhere near scratching the surface of what we were capable of,\u201d Trevi\u00f1o said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not taking our concerns seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, Cameron County officials approved a $211 million tax break deal for Saronic Technologies as an incentive to bring the company\u2019s shipyard, named Port Alpha, to Brownsville.<\/p>\n

The deal comes with the expectation that Saronic will generate $160 billion in regional economic impact for Cameron County and create 10,000 jobs over 10 years.<\/p>\n

Construction on Port Alpha is slated to begin this year and operations to begin in 2028. It will be located on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville, with the potential to expand to nearly 4,400 acres.<\/p>\n

Trevi\u00f1o said reducing poverty in the region was a key reason officials approved the tax break for Saronic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want our families struggling any longer, having both parents work and barely able to pay their bills,\u201d Trevi\u00f1o said. \u201cWe want them making as much money as they can, so that the kids have more opportunities, which will obviously enhance the entire community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics argue that drawing large corporations like Saronic is changing the region\u2019s environmental landscape. Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, urged county leaders to not approve tax incentives for Saronic, saying the company has not adequately addressed environmental concerns.<\/p>\n

Hinojosa and her group have consistently pushed back against SpaceX rocket launches and the construction of facilities to export liquefied natural gas, also known as LNG terminals. They have filed lawsuits and held protests that have centered on the effects that these companies have on pollution, the displacement of residents and the encroachment of land that serve as wildlife habitats.<\/p>\n

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were not taking our concerns seriously at all,\u201d Hinojosa said about the county commissioners.<\/p>\n

The fight will continue, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been speaking out about the risks and dangers of LNG for more than 10 years,\u201d Hinojosa said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some victories, and we\u2019ll continue to speak out and do everything we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some residents spoke out against tax incentives for Saronic on moral grounds, given the company\u2019s involvement in creating military machines. When they addressed the county commissioners over the course of two meetings, they objected to allowing Brownsville to become host to the development of warships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need jobs that actually benefit the community, not jobs that contribute to war,\u201d said Desto Huerta, a Brownsville resident, at a county commissioners meeting June 16.<\/p>\n

Saronic could not be reached for comment as of publication, but in a news release, the company said Port Alpha represented a commitment to the country\u2019s maritime future.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilt from the ground up to deliver ships at a speed and scale not seen since World War II, this investment is about more than constructing a shipyard,\u201d said Dino Mavrookas, CEO of Saronic. \u201cIt is about rebuilding the industrial capacity, workforce, and manufacturing advantage required<\/p>\n

to ensure American maritime leadership for decades to come. The state of Texas and city of Brownsville give us the foundation to turn that vision into reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevi\u00f1o, however, said many communities across the U.S. have benefited from the U.S. military\u2019s investment in defense or national security.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes anybody think that San Antonio is a bad community? They don\u2019t, right? And yet, the military helped make and build San Antonio,\u201d Trevi\u00f1o said, referring to San Antonio\u2019s five military bases.<\/p>\n

Others argued that inviting companies like SpaceX and Saronic to the region will not provide the economic relief to Brownsville that officials say they will.<\/p>\n

Etienne Rosas, a researcher and former congressional candidate who identifies as a Democratic Socialist, said the relationship between a community like Brownsville and big corporations like SpaceX is a toxic one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of like dating a narcissist,\u201d Rosas said.<\/p>\n

Large companies may arrive with promises of community investment and good-paying jobs, but once they\u2019re established, Rosas said, they prioritize their own fiscal growth over the community\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just continue expanding their footprint,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd little by little, that\u2019s how you get stagnant wages, which has happened throughout the country. That\u2019s how you get a concentration of power that disallows you from being represented in your government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of trying to court corporations, Rosas suggests city leaders invest in social programs that build a healthy working class to fill jobs in education, healthcare and renewable energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only constraint that we have is not of resources. It\u2019s of political integrity and of political will,\u201d Rosas said.<\/p>\n

Preparing the workforce<\/p>\n

\nJason Medina was frustrated that the Rio Grande Valley kept losing workers to companies north of the region. <\/p>\n

In 2023, he and his business partner, Marlene Martinez, opened STX Metal Trades, a trade school that trains workers in pipefitting. The job consists of assembling and installing piping systems that carry water, chemicals or gases.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a dangerous and demanding profession, but pipe fitters are in high demand and continue to be needed for LNG and SpaceX projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that there wasn\u2019t going to be enough pipefitters to support them. We knew that these projects were not here yet, but they were on the way, and we had to jump in front of this and do what we can,\u201d Medina said.<\/p>\n

STX partners with a halfway house in Brownsville to train workers and give them a second chance at a career.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of our best, our most amazing success stories have come from the halfway houses,\u201d Medina said. \u201cWe\u2019re helping change lives one at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he hears that a company like Saronic Technologies is interested in building its shipyard in Brownsville, Medina is excited about the opportunity to change more lives.<\/p>\n

That said, he understands the drawbacks.<\/p>\n

Medina said the criticisms like those expressed by Hinojosa are fair. He enjoys the wildlife and spending time on the beach, and is aware of the impact these companies could have on both. However, he believes there is a middle ground and said he knows these companies place a lot of effort into minimizing their footprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need these jobs. Brownsville has forever been labeled as the poorest city in the country, year after year,\u201d Medina said. \u201cJobs like this are going to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, Brownsville\u2019s median household income was $52,130, compared to the national median household income of $78,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It also lags behind the country on education with more than 29% of people<\/a> over 25 never graduating from high school, the fourth in the country. As of 2024, the number of people in Texas without a high school diploma was 13%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But because of SpaceX and the LNG projects, Brownsville is known for something other than being among the poorest cities in the country, said Gilberto Salinas, president and CEO of the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation.<\/p>\n

When economic development officials meet with leaders of Fortune 500 companies, the conversations begin with Brownsville\u2019s projects rather than the community\u2019s poverty.<\/p>\n

Landing these projects has become part of the economic development corporation\u2019s formula for ensuring that Brownsville is successful in opportunity and job creation for locals, Salinas said.<\/p>\n

He remembers all too well growing up in the Valley in the 1980s and how difficult it was to find job opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI refuse for my community to go back to those days,\u201d Salinas said. <\/p>\n

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Subscribe to The Y\u2019all \u2014 a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,129325,12464,101,192,79062,451,3,111,1528,327619,155210,29581,1513,46047,452,453,18068],"class_list":["post-766693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-brownsville","tag-demographics","tag-economy","tag-environment","tag-harlingen","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-rio-grande-valley","tag-saronic-technologies","tag-south-padre-island","tag-south-texas","tag-spacex","tag-texas-legislature","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}