adminThe truth-telling work of BlazeTV’s Sara Gonzales has forced a long-overdue reaction from Texas leadership, and hardworking Americans should applaud it. On January 27, 2026 Governor Greg Abbott formally ordered a freeze on new H-1B visa petitions at state agencies and public universities after Gonzales exposed suspicious “ghost office” operations that appeared to be gaming the visa system. This is the kind of no-nonsense accountability the federal government has failed to deliver for years, so it is right for state leaders to step in.
Gonzales didn’t just parrot anonymous tips; she went into the field and found empty construction sites and tiny, prison-cell-sized rooms listed as the headquarters for companies sponsoring dozens of H-1B workers. Names like 3Bees Technologies and Qubitz Tech Systems showed up again and again in H-1B data, yet their “offices” were little more than shells — a pattern that screams exploitation of the visa program. When reporters do the job the bureaucrats won’t, the public learns the truth, and that’s exactly what happened here.
Abbott’s directive is specific and enforceable: no new H-1B petitions can be initiated by the relevant state entities without written permission from the Texas Workforce Commission, and universities and agencies must submit detailed reports by March 27, 2026 on their H-1B use. The freeze is set to remain in place through May 31, 2027, unless exceptions are granted, which gives Texas time to audit and root out fraud rather than blindly trusting federal paperwork. Texans deserve that kind of prudence — especially when taxpayer-funded positions are at stake.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also jumped in to pursue potential criminal schemes, announcing investigations into employers who appear to be using shell operations to import foreign labor while bypassing genuine recruitment of American workers. That combination of gubernatorial oversight and attorney general enforcement sends a clear message: fraud will not be tolerated, and the state will protect its citizens’ jobs. If Washington won’t act decisively, state leaders must use every tool to defend local workers and taxpayers.
Predictably, the usual establishment outlets are already fretting about shortages and doomsday scenarios for hospitals and universities, but their reflexive defense of an abused system doesn’t erase the facts of fraud and displacement. Major papers and national reporters point out trade-offs, but Texans know the difference between protecting public services and allowing deceitful actors to game taxpayer-funded positions. This pause is a targeted, temporary measure to ensure state money and talent go to Texans first, not a permanent blackout of all foreign talent.
Conservatives should be proud to stand for rigorous enforcement of immigration policies that protect American workers while still allowing legitimate talent to contribute. Abbott’s action is not anti-innovation; it is pro-accountability — forcing institutions to justify why taxpayer-funded roles are filled by noncitizens and giving qualified Texans the first shot at those jobs. If this audit reveals systemic abuse, other states would be smart to follow Texas’s lead instead of bowing to corporate lobbyists who profit from cheap foreign labor.
Now is the time for patriots and everyday Americans to demand transparency and support sensible reforms: require real, staffed offices; mandate proof of genuine recruitment efforts for Americans; and prosecute fraud when it is found. Governor Abbott and state officials have shown they will act where the federal bureaucracy has failed, and Texans should keep the pressure on until every shell game is exposed and stopped. Our country’s workers and taxpayers deserve nothing less than vigorous protection of their opportunities and livelihoods.
