Frontera Federation Celebrates Shelby Park Lease Victory, Urges Next Steps Against River Buoys
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Frontera Federation Amerika Garcia-Grewal (830) 294-8380 connect@fronterafederation.org
Maverick Accountability Project Luis Alfonso Ruiz mavacctproject@gmail.com
The Border Organization Sandra Fuentes sandracfuentes@yahoo.com
Frontera Federation Celebrates Shelby Park Lease Victory, Urges Next Steps Against River Buoys
EAGLE PASS, TX – July 7, 2026 Tonight, the people of Eagle Pass won a historic victory. The Eagle Pass City Council officially denied the proposed land lease agreement with Gibraltar Construction Company. This dangerous contract would have handed over our beloved Shelby Park to be used as an industrial staging ground for floating buoy barriers.
The Frontera Federation applauds the City of Eagle Pass for listening to its residents and rejecting this lease. Tonight, the voters, taxpayers, and rightful owners of Shelby Park reclaimed their power. By blocking this corporate takeover, our city leaders chose community values over outside interests.
While we celebrate this win, our work is far from over. We now urge the City of Eagle Pass to closely examine the so-called “irrevocable” Right of Entry for the municipal golf course and adjacent land downriver in order to determine every option available to return that land to the public.
We at Frontera Federation extend our deepest gratitude to our partners at The Border Organization and Maverick Accountability Project for standing and speaking alongside us in this fight. Together, we proved that when our community organizes, crony capitalism is stymied in its attempts to exploit our resources and homes here along the Rio Grande.
"Tonight shows that we are not passive bystanders," said Frontera Federation Co Director Amerika Garcia Grewal. "This is how Eagle Pass moves in the direction of our values of dignity, justice, and community rights."
Luis Alfonso Ruiz of the Maverick Accountability Project emphasized, “Words matter in legal contracts. When city administration tries to call an eighteen-month irrevocable agreement 'temporary,' they are misleading the public. We are here to enforce accuracy, transparency, and oversight.”
Sandy Sassano, a leader with The Border Organization said, "When we, the residents of Eagle Pass, stand together and hold our City Council members accountable, we help protect the interest of our community. We elected these officials to represent us. Unfortunately they don't do their due diligence to protect the community."
The Frontera Federation, The Border Organization, and Maverick Accountability Project are hosting a joint workshop in partnership with the City of Eagle Pass. We invite technical experts to join us as we evaluate the real risks posed by corporate contractors and these floating river buoys. If you would like to participate, please send an Expression of Interest to connect@fronterafederation.org by July 15th, 2026.
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