Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1978 )

The Attorney General of Texas
March 21, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable G. L. “Lynn” Tate Opinion No. H-1140
Commissioner
Texas Department of Labor Re: Whether a non-citizen of the
and Standards United States may be licensed under
Box 12157 the Texas Private Employment Agency
Austin, Texas 78711 Law, art. 5221a-6, V.T.C.S.
Dear Commissioner Tate:
You have requested our opinion concerning the constitutionality of
article 5221a-6, section 5(a)(l), V.T.C.S., which deals with Private
Employment Agency licensing and provides:
(a) Application for a license as en operator may be
made and shall be issued to any person who (1) is a
citizen of the United States. . . .
On numerous occasions this office has stated that such citizenship
requirements are unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the
14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Attorney General
Opinions H-926 (1977) (landscape architect); H-157 (1973), R-2247 (1950), O-866
(1939) (physician); H-81 (1973) (certified public accountant); and M-447 (1969)
(vocational nurse). The United States Supreme Court has made the law quite
clear in this regard. Restrictions based on alienage cannot be upheld unless
the State can prove that the restriction is necessary to accomplish a
compelling state purpose. -See
Surveyors v. Flores de Otero, 4
from being licensed as engineers); In re Griffiths, 413 U.S. 717 (1973) (aliens
may not be denied admission to thevbar);arman v. Dougall, 413 U.S.
634 (1973) (aliens may not be denied civil service employment); Graham v.
Richardson, 403 U.S. 365 (1971) (aliens are entitled to welfare benefits).
can discern no meaningful distinction between the rational basis for such a
restriction as applied to Private Employment Agency operators on the one
hand versus physicians, nurses, accountants and landscape architects on the
other. Accordingly, in our opinion article 5221a-6, section 5(a)(l), V.T.C.S.,
violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and is invalid.
p. 4640
Honorable G. L. “Lynn” Tete - Page 2 (H-1140)
SUMMARY
Article 5221e-6, section 5(e)(l), which restricts licensing es
Private Employment Agency operators to citizens of the
United States, is unconstitutional.
*ry truly yours,
/ 1’ Attorney General of Texas
APPROVED:
Opinion Committee
jst
p. 4641