After Florida, another US state appears to be preparing to tighten its rules regarding the H-1B visa. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said his administration is looking closely at the use of H-1B visas in public schools, universities, and other institutions funded by Texas taxpayers. He questioned whether foreign workers are being hired for jobs that Texans could easily do themselves.
Speaking on The Mark Davis Show on Monday, Abbott said his office has already started gathering information from public agencies across the state. The goal, he said, is to find out “the extent to which Texas taxpayer dollars are being used to pay for any of these people,” referring to H-1B visa holders working in state-run institutions.
The governor also raised concerns about the possible misuse of the H-1B visa program. He referred to reports of multiple visa holders listed at the same address and said there has been “extraordinary controversy” over how some H-1B workers were allowed into the country.
“Obviously, we are in communication with the Trump administration,” he said, adding that the US president has made immigration enforcement a top priority.
Texas Gov raises questions over H-1B visas in state schools
Abbott said the review covers public schools, colleges, universities, and other areas where state money is involved. His administration has sent formal inquiries asking agencies to provide details on how many H-1B workers they employ, what jobs they are doing, and why they were hired.
“We have inquiries out right now to all of those agencies gathering the information that we need, and are hoping to be able to make an announcement later on this week about an action plan that Texas is beginning to take,” Abbott said during the radio interview.
The governor made it clear that the H-1B visa program is run by the federal government, not by individual states. Still, he said, Texas is exploring what power it may have when state funds are being used. “This is a federal program, only a federal program. It’s not a state program,” Abbott said, adding that his administration is trying to understand “what authority would we have to do anything about this.”
Texas raises concerns over possible abuse of H-1B
Abbott said the review is focused on whether H-1B workers are being hired for roles that do not require rare or highly specialised skills. He questioned why public schools in Texas would need foreign workers at all. “For example, what job is it in our public schools in the State of Texas that these H-1B visa personnel are fulfilling that we can’t fulfil here in our own public schools?” he said. “I don’t see any reason why we need any H-1B visa employees in our public schools in the State of Texas, but we’re going to find out if there’s some unique skill set or whatever the case may be.”
Abbott suggested that some individuals may have overstayed their visas or were not properly checked, especially during the Biden administration. “Some of these H-1B visa issues are people who were allowed in either under the Biden administration or even before that who’ve overstayed their visa,” he said.
According to Abbott, the main goal of the review is to protect Texans’ jobs and ensure public safety. “The fact of the matter is we want to make sure that our communities are safe,” he said. “We want to make sure that our communities are not having people come in and take jobs that Texans can easily fill.”
He said Texas may ask the federal government to step in, depending on what the review finds. “It may be that we’re having to call specifically on the Trump administration to withdraw them,” Abbott said, referring to certain H-1B visa holders.