The Main Point is an opinion written by The University Star’s Editorial Board. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of our entire publication.
Texas’s ongoing battle against immigrants is leaving its universities in the crossfire.
As Texas State pushes for R1 status and continued campus growth, the university is trying to move forward, however the state seems determined to pull it back. New visa restrictions risk stunting growth at Texas State and other institutions.
Last Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all public universities and state agencies in Texas to halt new H-1B visa applications, a visa program for high-skilled workers, unless written permission is granted, a freeze that will remain in place until May 31, 2027. The order also requires detailed reports on currently sponsored employees, including their job titles, countries of origin and visa expiration dates.
This directive will not accomplish what it promises. Instead, it will likely erode the supply of much-needed professionals. In doing so, the state is limiting its own potential for growth by artificially shrinking its talent pool.
In a letter to state agency heads, Abbott justified his decision by claiming that H-1B visas strip Texans of economic opportunities.
“Texas state agencies and institutions of higher education collectively employ hundreds of thousands of Texans and have a significant role in shaping the State’s labor market,” the letter reads. “State government must lead by example and ensure that employment opportunities—particularly those funded with taxpayer dollars—are filled by Texans first.”
This argument raises important questions, particularly about reducing people and their immigration status to economic metrics and risks jeopardizing the state’s economic future. While the governor is correct that higher education plays a significant role in shaping the labor market, those successes have occurred alongside visa holders, not despite them.
At Texas State, a university running to achieve R1 status, an abundance of talent is essential. While Texas is home to many highly skilled individuals, access to a global talent pool allows Texas State and other institutions to recruit leaders in their fields, ultimately strengthening the labor market by creating opportunity rather than tightening it.
The state and federal governments have become fixated on immigration, funneling vast resources and policy efforts toward targeting immigrants and fueling an ongoing cultural war against them. In doing so, they scapegoat an entire community, placing society’s broader woes on a group that can be conveniently labeled as the “other.” Texas education is not at risk because of the talent within it; it is at risk because of state and federal government attacks against it.
Texas is home to several of the world’s leading research institutions, from Rice University to the University of Texas. Public and private universities across the state produce cutting-edge research and graduate top talent, generating billions in economic opportunity. As of 2021, Texas State alone generated roughly $2 billion in economic activity, while Texas A&M added more than $22 billion. Immigrants are already deeply rooted within university systems and have helped drive these gains. Restricting access risks sacrificing the value immigrants add, and the momentum of these institutions, for the sake of culture-war politics.
Another key motivation lies in the artificial barriers imposed by the federal government. The Trump administration dramatically increased the cost of H-1B visas. Yet, this economic strain was created by allies of Abbott, not by immigrants within the state. The state government can point to this prohibitively expensive sponsorship process, while ignoring the irony of how it was enacted.
While the situation is difficult to navigate, the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) urged institutions to push-back within their legal limits.
“TSEU calls on the state government to halt this purge of state workers and instead commit to building well-funded public institutions with decent pay, benefits, and working conditions. TSEU further calls on state agencies and public higher education institutions to refuse voluntary compliance with these directives, provide supportive resources to employees that may be affected, and take a public stand against these attacks on state workers,” TSEU wrote in a press release.
Institutions can operate within legal limits to provide support for employees targeted during the process, protecting their rights and ensuring fair treatment.
Ultimately, the pursuit of political brownie points risks further weakening Texas’s higher education system and, in turn, the economic opportunities available to Texans. This policy constricts the talent pool, threatening to derail Texas State’s R1 initiative and reduce access to highly qualified faculty.
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