Texas governor Greg Abbott has ordered all public K-12 (Kindergarten through the 12th grade) schools and universities to provide a complete list of employees working on H-1B visas, saying there is “no reason” for foreign workers to be employed in public schools.Abbott said his office is examining whether taxpayer dollars are being used to fund specialty visas for highly skilled workers in the state’s public education system, he said on a radio show on Monday. Greg told conservative host Mark Davis that he expects to announce an “action plan” later this week.The governor’s request follows reporting by the Quorum Report, which revealed that Abbott had asked campuses in the Texas A&M University System to submit details of all H-1B employees, including their roles and countries of origin, by the end of Monday. H-1B visas are a federal programme that allows employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. They are used by higher education institutions, hospital systems, and public school districts, particularly at a time when Texas is facing a shortage of teachers.Abbott said that he doesn’t “see any reason” why H-1B visa holders would need to work in Texas public schools. His comments align with the Trump administration’s allegations about H-1B visa fraud, claiming that some workers admitted during the Biden administration or earlier may have overstayed their visas and are now here illegally. He also said that he might call on the Trump administration to “withdraw them.”Federal data shows that the Dallas Independent School District sponsors the most H-1B visa holders in Texas, with 230, followed by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas with 228. Other institutions with large numbers of visa workers include Texas A&M’s flagship campus with 214, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center with 171, and the University of Texas at Austin with 169.New petitioners on H-1B visas are now required to pay $100,000, after Trump made the announcement last September. The previous range was $2,000 to $5,000. The lottery system for awarding visas will also be replaced with a plan that prioritises workers with higher pay and specialised skills.Abbott said that it will ensure jobs will be available for Texans. “The fact of the matter is we want to make sure that our communities are safe,” he said. He added: “We want to make sure our communities are not having people come in and take jobs that Texans could easily fill.”Meanwhile, in Florida, public universities are considering a one-year freeze on H-1B hiring following instructions from Governor Ron DeSantis to crack down on “H-1B abuse.”
