CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In a memo obtained by the Texas Tribune, Gov. Greg Abbott's Chief of Staff Gardner Pate warned state agencies and public university leaders that all hiring is to be done based only on merit and not on a person's background.
The Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, sex, religion and national origin.
It's something LULAC leader and Del Mar College Regent Director Nick Adami recognizes as important.
"The purpose of the Civil Right Act when it was enacted back in 1964 is to give an equal footing to people of color and to individuals who might otherwise not have that opportunity," he said.
It came at a time when people of color were often excluded from higher paying jobs because of their race. Since then, there have been a number of DEI initiatives developed, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
These are policies that support groups who have been underrepresented in the workplace, in government offices and on college campuses.
"As a Hispanic, I can tell you that you were judged primarily, and people don't like to say it, but you were judged primarily by the color of your skin," he said.
But like many conservatives, Abbott believes those policies have gone too far, and now, they risk putting other unmanned demographic groups at a disadvantage.
That idea behind the warning that using DEI initiatives violates federal and state employment laws. Specifically, it's a reminder that hiring cannot be based on factors other than merit.
"You're seeing the Texas governor trying to unravel years -- decades -- of what our forefathers had worked on," he said.
The memo goes on to say that a state agency cannot spend taxpayer dollars on offices, departments, or employee positions that promote DEI initiative's.
Meanwhile, some believe that while anti-discrimination laws protect all Americans. It's the DEI policies that ensure that companies will solicit applications from a wide range of people, and that's why both are needed.