By ALEJANDRO SERRANO/The Texas Tribune
People seeking to obtain a wide range of professional licenses in Texas, from electricians to dog breeders, will soon have to prove they are in the country legally after the state’s Licensing and Regulatory Commission adopted a new rule Tuesday that could affect thousands of workers.
Commissioners unanimously approved the change after hearing from a parade of speakers who, most of them, asked them to do otherwise out of fear that the measure would slow the state’s economy and impose more obstacles on immigrants trying to make an honest living. Speakers also argued that the decision will push people to work without licenses and erode state oversight of crucial industries.
The commission oversees the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which plans to implement the rule on May 1.
“TDLR has long been evaluating license eligibility verification consistent with federal law. With the transfer of the Texas Lottery to TDLR, the recent launch of our licensing system modernization project, and an increased focus on combating human trafficking, the department is moving forward with legal presence verification,” TDLR spokesperson Caroline M. Espinosa said Tuesday. “This ensures consistent and safe practices across all programs and strengthens our ability to identify and deter fraud, labor exploitation and human trafficking.”
Despite the agency’s stated intention to comply with the federal statute and concerns raised by workers across the state, TDLR attorney Derek Burkhalter told commissioners that some noncitizens will be able to obtain licenses as long as they meet one of the requirements under a three-decade-old federal law supporting the rule change and submit the required documentation.
People may qualify for benefits under federal law if, for example, they were granted asylum, were admitted as refugees, or are recognized as victims of human trafficking.
“The proposed rules do not impose a citizenship requirement,” Burkhalter said. “Individuals who are not citizens of the United States may still be eligible to obtain a license if they meet the eligibility criteria.”
The TDLR argues that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 prohibits people who are in the country illegally from receiving certain benefits, such as state-administered professional licenses, unless they qualify for certain exceptions. Lists of documents that can be used to apply for a license will be published on the TDLR website, officials said Tuesday.
TDLR joins at least three other state agencies that have waged immigration crackdowns through administrative and regulatory procedures since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. The Texas Department of Public Safety stopped issuing commercial driver’s licenses to many noncitizens, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles imposed strict new photo identification requirements for vehicle registrations, and the Texas secretary of state’s office has sought out noncitizens registered to vote, sometimes mistakenly flagging Americans as potential noncitizens.
The changes mirror a presidential executive order from February 2025, when Trump directed federal agencies to toughen enforcement of that same 1996 law to “defend against the waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned resources and protect benefits for American citizens who need them, including people with disabilities and veterans.”
It remains unclear how many undocumented workers in Texas will be affected by the new licensing requirement. There are an estimated 1.7 million unauthorized people living in the state, working in numerous key industries such as construction, hospitality and others under the jurisdiction of the TDLR.
Steve Bruno, the agency’s deputy executive director for licensing and regulatory services, told commissioners that less than 2% of licenses issued by the agency lacked an associated Social Security number.
But TDLR could not assume that these people were breaking federal law, agency officials explained, because there are several ways noncitizens can live and work in the country through federal programs.
The agency issued more than 1 million individual and business licenses during fiscal year 2025.
Currently, the TDLR website contains guidance on applying for occupational licenses for those who do not have a Social Security number. The page links to a form, last updated by the commission in January, that asks applicants to attach supporting documentation, such as a permanent resident card, immigrant visa or refugee travel document.
To give commissioners context, Bruno noted that the agency had issued approximately 19,000 new licenses and renewed another 39,000 in February alone.
The information did little to allay concerns across industries.
Agency officials received 450 comments on the proposed rule; of them, all but 28 opposed it.
Among those who testified in person Tuesday morning was Rocio Gomez, a 35-year-old Austin resident who has an eyelash extension specialist’s license and teaches at a beauty school in the capital. Some of her students without legal status have been very distraught since the agency proposed the rule in January, and have sometimes cried with her because of the uncertainty about their future, she said in an interview after testifying.
Gomez indicated that seeing how this affects her students also affects her emotionally. He noted that, apparently, everything is at the mercy of the commissioners.
Other speakers — salon owners, educators and more — reminded commissioners of the strict requirements already in place to obtain some licenses. Industries that will be affected range from dyslexia therapists to used car parts recyclers and dog breeders, according to the TDLR proposal filed with the state.
Some licenses require many hours of practice and safety training. For example, obtaining a cosmetology operator’s license in Texas can take more than a year as applicants learn about chemicals and hygiene, as well as hairstyling techniques.
By preventing undocumented people from obtaining licenses, the state will push them into the black market and lead to a proliferation of people providing services without proper supervision or permits, speakers told commissioners.
The issue has already captured the attention of elected officials and hard-liners on immigration matters, who celebrated the new rule.
“For too long, illegal alien benefits have served as a magnet to attract migrants to enter the United States illegally,” Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott, said in a statement after the vote. “Texas will not reward illegal immigration by issuing professional licenses to those here illegally. These changes protect the integrity of our licensing system, enforce federal law, and ensure jobs go to hard-working Texans.”
State agencies must submit proposed rule changes to the governor’s office before they are made available for public comment.
Austin Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, who is running for comptroller of public accounts, submitted a comment to TDLR opposing the change. Using estimates published by various groups, the senator calculated that the rule change could cause a reduction in the state’s qualified workforce of between 8% and 10%.
“Texas cannot afford to lose qualified and trained licensees in these high-demand jobs,” Eckhardt wrote, urging the commission to study the possible effect. “The impact of TDLR’s proposed rule is likely more far-reaching than the agency initially assessed.”
In their formal proposed rule filed with the state, agency officials wrote that no economic impacts or effects on small and microbusinesses are anticipated. In response to questions about the issue Tuesday, they told commissioners that it was difficult to assess the potential impact because they did not want to assume that a licensee was violating federal law simply by not providing a Social Security number.
Commission Chairman Rick Figueroa called for frequent updates to the commission as the rule is implemented, acknowledging that the agency was entering uncharted territory, perhaps only comparable to that of the Department of Motor Vehicles, which made its change months ago.
“This is a priority issue in terms of information coming back to the commission,” Figueroa said. “I’m sure we’re building a plane and flying it a little bit.”
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Ayden Runnels contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.