Texas regulators on Tuesday voted to tighten requirements for professional licensing by approving a rule that requires applicants to provide proof of legal immigration status, beginning May 1, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The unanimous vote by the Commission of Licensing and Regulation came after public testimony that largely urged commissioners to reject the change, with speakers warning it could hamper parts of the state economy and make it harder for immigrants to work legally. The licensing agency said the policy is meant to reflect federal requirements and support efforts to deter fraud and labor exploitation.
Caroline M. Espinosa, a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokesperson, told commissioners that the department has long been evaluating license eligibility in line with federal law and that it is moving forward with “lawful presence verification.” She linked the shift to multiple agency developments, including the transfer of the Texas Lottery to TDLR, the launch of a licensing system modernization project, and “increased focus on combatting human trafficking,” saying the change would help Texas “identify and deter fraud, labor exploitation, and human trafficking.” Espinosa said the approach would use consistent, secure practices across licensing programs.
Commissioners also heard from TDLR attorney Derek Burkhalter, who said the proposed rules do not impose a citizenship requirement. Burkhalter told commissioners that people who are not U.S. citizens may still be eligible for licensure if they meet eligibility criteria tied to a three-decade-old federal law that underpins the rule change. He cited examples including asylum, refugee status, and recognition as a victim of human trafficking, and said in response to commissioners’ questions that eligibility depends on meeting documented criteria rather than citizenship.
Texas’ licensing agency said the change is grounded in federal law, and officials described how the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act prohibits people in the country unlawfully from receiving certain benefits, including professional licenses administered by the state, unless they qualify for exceptions. The agency said the lists of documents that can be used to apply for a license would be posted on TDLR’s website. Officials told commissioners that the documentation rules are meant to determine eligibility under the federal framework and that the agency cannot assume someone without a Social Security number is unlawfully in the country because federal programs can allow noncitizens to live and work in the country in other ways.
During the meeting, TDLR deputy executive director for licensing and regulatory services Steve Bruno told commissioners that fewer than 2% of the licenses issued by the agency did not have a Social Security number attached. He also described the department’s scale, saying the agency issued more than 1 million individual and business licenses during the 2025 fiscal year. To provide context for how licensing operates now, Bruno told commissioners that in February alone the agency issued roughly 19,000 new licenses and renewed another 39,000, and that TDLR’s website currently contains guidance for occupational licenses for people who do not have a Social Security number.
Bruno and other officials said the agency has to implement the rule without assuming every applicant lacking a Social Security number falls under federal ineligibility, and they said it was difficult to assess potential economic impact because officials did not want to make that kind of assumption. They also said the department’s formal rule proposal asserted there would be no anticipated economic impacts or effects on small and microbusinesses. Public commenters pushed back on that assessment, and officials said they received 450 comments about the proposed rule; of those, all but 28 were against the change.
Among the witnesses at the commission’s hearing was Rocio Gomez, an Austin resident who holds an eyelash extension specialist’s license and instructs at a beauty school. Gomez told commissioners that some of her students without legal status had been in distress since the agency proposed the rule in January, and she said in an interview after testifying that “Seeing how this has affected the students affects us too, emotionally. It appears that everything is at the whim of them.” Other speakers, including salon owners and educators, described existing licensing requirements—such as the hours of practice and safety education needed for some professions—as proof that oversight already exists and that narrowing eligibility could leave some services without regulation.
The public testimony also centered on what commenters said would happen if unlicensed workers cannot meet licensing requirements. Speakers told commissioners that barring undocumented people from getting licensed would force some work into the “black market” and lead to services provided without oversight or proper permitting. The concerns extended across industries listed in the state’s proposal, which officials said ranges from dyslexia therapists to used car parts recyclers to dog breeders, with some licenses taking more than a year to earn in Texas as applicants train on topics such as chemicals, hygiene, and hair technique.
Elected officials and state-aligned immigration groups backed the change. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott, said in a statement after the vote that “For too long, benefits to illegal aliens have served as a magnet to entice migrants to enter the United States illegally,” and that “Texas will not reward illegal immigration by issuing professional licenses to those here unlawfully.” Mahaleris said the changes protect the integrity of the licensing system and uphold federal law.
Some lawmakers questioned the potential workforce impact. Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin submitted a comment to TDLR in opposition to the change, and she wrote that using published estimates from a variety of groups, the rule change could reduce the state’s skilled workforce by 8% to 10%. Eckhardt urged the commission to study the potential effect, arguing in her written comment that the impact likely extends beyond what the agency initially assessed. Commission Chair Rick Figueroa said the issue was a “front-burner” for the commission as TDLR implements the rule, describing the work as entering “unchartered territory” alongside other state licensing changes.
This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.