Selma, CA, Tuesday, January 29, 2024 - Electrician Rory McCarthy teaches students how to bend conduit at the Central Valley Training Center where low income and disadvantaged students are taught trade skills. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via G …
Thousands of trained workers in Texas could lose their ability to work legally if a state commission upholds a change to a decades-old provision.
The ability for undocumented immigrants to earn licenses and certifications has been overturned by Texas AG Ken Paxton, and is up for an official vote next week.
Texas licensing change
Numerous jobs in Texas require a license; electricians, HVAC contractors, commercial drivers, hairdressers, cosmetologists and barbers, just to name a few, all fall within this realm. If the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation changes a rule that's stood since 2001, thousands of those workers could lose their legal ability to work.
The rule, which originated when then-AG John Cornyn issued an opinion in 2001, allows for undocumented immigrants to get occupational licenses. On Feb. 10, current AG Ken Paxton, who's challenging Cornyn's U.S. Senate seat in an upcoming runoff, issued a new opinion requiring Social Security numbers for such licenses.
Paxton rescinds Cornyn’s 2001 opinion to require social security numbers for Texas licenses
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has rescinded a 25-year-old legal opinion to require all occupational license applicants to provide a Social Security number, a move aimed at barring undocumented immigrants from professional work amid an intensifying 2026 primary clash with U.S. Senator John Cornyn.
What they're saying:
"Illegal aliens who don’t belong in this country should not be rewarded for their criminal actions by receiving occupational licenses that allow them to undercut the wages of American citizens," said Paxton. "I have rescinded John Cornyn’s legal opinion that put Texans last by rolling out the red carpet for the invasion of our State. Illegals must be rounded up and deported instead of being given licenses to steal opportunities from Americans."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole on July 11, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The other side:
Cornyn fired back at Paxton's announcement on X, formerly Twitter, in February, calling the new opinion "More morally-bankrupt abuse of the office and the public trust."
By the numbers:
State data shows that about 18,000 licenses, or about 2 percent, are not attached to a Social Security number, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The outlet said they spoke with one cosmetology instructor who claimed half his students would lose their eligibility if the rule is changed.
What's next:
The TCLR is set to meet on Tuesday, March 24, at 8:30 a.m. in Austin. The first rule on the agenda is the licensing eligibility matter. Public comments are set to precede the vote.
The Source: Information in this article comes from public servants, the Austin American-Statesman, and previous FOX Local reporting.