Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said he “can’t imagine any reason why Dallas ISD should need any H-1Bs,” referring to the district’s use of the federal H-1B visa program.
Cruz made the remarks January 29 on the Texas Bullpen Podcast, just before records published by The Dallas Express showed that Dallas Independent School District spent roughly $2.5 million of federally distributed taxpayer dollars on H-1B visa legal services between 2020 and late September 2025.
“Look, I think that’s a very fair concern to raise. I can’t imagine any reason why Dallas ISD should need any H-1Bs,” Cruz said. He added that while research universities might justify limited use of the visas for a “really, you know, brilliant physicist,” he questioned their necessity in a K-12 setting.
The district records, obtained by The Dallas Express, show 599 H-1B fee-related transactions during the period, with payments made to an immigration law firm for processing labor applications and related services. Federal immigration data indicate DISD employed 1,272 H-1B visa workers over the past five years, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services H-1B Employer Data Hub.
Cruz said the program “has been quite a bit of fraud historically” and cited past examples of alleged abuse in the private sector. “This should not just be, you know, filling jobs that should be going to Americans,” he said.
Governor Greg Abbott on January 27 ordered a freeze on new H-1B petitions at state agencies and public universities, citing what he described as “recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa program,” The Dallas Express reported. The order does not apply to K-12 school districts, including DISD.
In a 2025 interview with The Dallas Express, DISD Trustee Ben Mackey said the district uses H-1B visas only for positions designated as critical shortages and after documenting an inability to fill them with certified applicants.
