Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) said she backs investigating H-1B hiring at Texas universities and pledged to “lean towards open and transparent government” if elected attorney general.
After the Republican Attorney General primary debate on February 17 at the Granada Theater, Huffman spoke with The Dallas Express and expressed her support for Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to suspend new H-1B visa petitions at state agencies and public universities while data is being collected.
Huffman told The Dallas Express, “I support the governor gathering the data, getting the information, and then if it looks like there is abuse, then certainly I’d support legislation [to codify the governor’s order].”
Abbott announced on January 27 that agencies and public universities must halt new H-1B petitions and report detailed information about their current visa holders while lawmakers consider potential statutory changes. The directive cited what Abbott described as “recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa program.”
In the private sector, Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched investigations into alleged H-1B fraud, The Dallas Express previously reported. Huffman indicated she would continue such probes, if warranted, adding, “If there’s any allegation– or fraud– that is hurting Texans, then yes, I would continue to investigate.”
Huffman also addressed complaints about delays under the Texas Public Information Act, which the attorney general’s office oversees when government entities seek to withhold records.
“I think we need to figure out why we hear so many complaints of how long it’s taking for these disputes to be adjudicated,” Huffman told The Dallas Express. “In my opinion, there must be something in the process, some kind of choke point, that is slowing the process down. We need to fix that because I always lean towards open and transparent government.”
She added that while the law contains exceptions, “that should be the exception, not the rule, right? And so I think that there’s been some abuses, and we need to look at it very carefully to speed up the process.”
Huffman is competing against State Sen. Mayes Middleton, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, and former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Aaron Reitz in the March 3 Republican primary. With early voting underway, the contest could head to a runoff if no candidate secures a majority.
