BROWNSVILLE — A line of about 100 people snaked along the side of the city’s event center just before 9 a.m. in late October.

Miguel Torres and his former co-worker, Diego Galvan, arrived at 6:30 a.m. to secure their spot at the front of the line. Inside were representatives from more than 20 different employers, including SpaceX, NextDecade — the energy company building a natural gas liquefaction facility in Brownsville — local restaurants, law enforcement agencies, and institutes of higher education.

Both men wanted welding jobs at SpaceX. They had reason to be hopeful: The spaceflight company is expected to hire hundreds of people in South Texas as it prepares for the next generation of its Starship vehicle and Super Heavy booster.

Torres, a 32-year-old Brownsville resident, is unemp

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