Overview
- The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which began Friday requiring proof of lawful presence, now conditions new and renewed licenses on immigration documents.
- The rule reaches many regulated jobs, with coverage naming cosmetologists, barbers, accountants, and construction and technical trades that rely on state credentials.
- Applicants can prove status with items such as a REAL ID-compliant state ID, a U.S. passport, a green card, an Employment Authorization Document (I-766), an I-94 or I-797, or refugee travel papers, and they submit clear copies through the agency’s online portal or by mail where allowed.
- Approved unanimously on March 24, the rule does not require U.S. citizenship and instead follows a 1996 federal public-benefits law that ties eligibility to lawful presence, which TDLR frames as part of a licensing modernization push.
- Legal analysts warn the change could push undocumented workers out of formal jobs, lead to cash or off-the-books work, and chill abuse reports, with reports citing estimates of about 1.7 million Texans lacking work authorization who could feel the squeeze.