Texas agriculture commissioner says businesses employing H-1B workers will lose eligibility for some state grants

Compiled from reports by Click2Houston, Hoodline and Breitbart News. See the original articles linked below.

This article reports news and is not legal advice.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has announced that businesses employing workers on H-1B visas will no longer be eligible for certain grants handled by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), according to reports published on October 29, 2026.

What was announced

Click2Houston reported that Miller described the policy as a way to prioritize Texas workers and protect taxpayer funds. Breitbart News, which named Bob Price as its author, reported that Miller framed the change as directing public money toward Texas workers instead of companies that depend on temporary foreign labor. Breitbart quoted him as saying, "Texas workers should come first. Period."

Both outlets said Miller called on Governor Greg Abbott and other statewide elected officials to adopt comparable safeguards in their own agencies and grant programs. Click2Houston added that he also asked for more transparency about who receives grants and for a review of existing economic incentives.

Limits of the rule

Click2Houston reported that the new eligibility rules apply to eligible grants that TDA administers itself. They do not reach programs the department runs on behalf of independent boards or other entities that set their own criteria. The same outlet said the rules do not change Texas entities' access to federal grants or their participation in state-funded loan programs administered by the department. Breitbart, citing the TDA, gave a similar description of the exemptions.

Questions about the scope

Hoodline reported that the extent of the policy is disputed. It said an analysis by VisaVerge of the materials for the AgPro grant program found a requirement that all principal owners be U.S. citizens or resident aliens, and concluded that the published rules do not set up a separate, across-the-board bar on applicants because they employ H-1B workers. According to Hoodline, it is unresolved which description is correct, and the legal authority and effective date have not been made public.

Hoodline described AgPro as a competitive program for producers of raw agricultural commodities, with awards capped at $500,000. It reported that the program's timeline has slipped because the agency received more applications than it expected, and that it is unclear whether the H-1B language applies to applications already pending.

The outlet also listed open questions: which grant programs are covered, how the agency would verify that a business employs H-1B workers, and how violations would be enforced. Hoodline said it found no comment from affected businesses, H-1B workers, immigration attorneys or Abbott's office.

Related state action

Hoodline cited the Texas Tribune as reporting that Abbott barred public universities and state agencies from beginning new H-1B petitions without Texas Workforce Commission permission, with the restriction running through May 31, 2027. Hoodline also said more than 40,000 people are authorized to work in Texas under H-1B visas, though they make up a small share of the state's workforce.

Sources

This article was compiled with AI assistance from the reports listed above and reviewed by GMA before publishing.