Sweeping rule changes are changing things for undocumented workers and students, bypassing the usual legislative processes in Texas.
Over the past year, the state has limited who can get an occupational license, register or buy a car, obtain driver’s licenses and get instate tuition at colleges and universities.
Changes are expected to affect about 1.7 million without legal documentation as well as thousands of refugees and DACA recipients, with others losing the ability to work in licensed industries.
As birthright citizenship is challenged in the Supreme Court, Texas elected officials are eyeing Plyler v. Doe, a 1982 SCOTUS decision forcing public schools and taxpayers to educate undocumented students.
According to a spokesperson in a statement for the governor’s office concern-ing new policies and regulations, “Benefits, licenses, and taxpayer-funded services should not be used to incentivize unlawful presence at the expense of hardworking Texans. These steps ensure compliance with federal law, protect the integrity of our systems, and prioritize jobs and resources for legal residents and citizens.”
After a bill aiming to revoke in-state tuition from undocumented college students stalled in the legislature’s last session, Attorney General Ken Paxton, working with the DOJ, began working to get courts to overturn the law. Students are now required to show they are “lawfully present” in the country to get in-state tuition, affecting about 18,500 students.
Following the regular legislative session, Paxton, Gov. Abbott and various agencies led by the governor’s appointees have been working the legal and regulatory system to eliminate services and benefits for noncitizens.
In September, Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to strictly enforce a federal English proficiency requirement for truck drivers, and ordered the agency to stop issuing commercial driver’s licenses for non-English speakers or those lacking proficiency. Soon after, the agency said it would no longer issue or renew commercial driver’s licenses for DACA recipients, refugees and people with asylum.
Pointing to high-profile crashes involving drivers without permanent residency, including a wreck in Austin that left five dead last March, federal officials launched a nationwide audit in the wake of that crash, after which DPS revoked commercial licenses from more than 6,000 drivers, according to an agency spokesperson.
The Department of Motor Vehicles also added stricter photo identification requirements for registering and purchasing a car for enhanced oversight, sending many out of state to purchase vehicles and returning to drive in Texas without registration and risking being pulled over and arrested.
When law enforcement stops an unregistered vehicle, the an undocumented driver risks arrest and deportation. Most recently, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation voted to sharply limit which types of noncitizens can be licensed for a wide range of jobs, and most noncitizens will not be able to obtain an occupational license unless they have a green card, are granted asylum or refugee status, or are recognized as a victim of human trafficking; DACA recipients will be ineligible for licenses.