Critics Blast Bill to Ban Certain Foreign-Born Citizens from Land Buys: ‘Slippery Slope’

For weeks, critics have railed against a bill that would prevent citizens from certain countries, including China, from purchasing land in Texas. The lawmaker behind the proposal has since tried to clarify her stance, but some detractors are still decrying the bill as “dangerous” and “racist.”

Senate Bill 147 by state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Republican from Brenham, would bar people, companies and government entities from China, North Korea, Iran and Russia from buying land in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has already said he’d sign it if it reaches his desk.

Supporters view the bill as a necessary step to safeguarding against a worrying trend of growing foreign ownership in Texas. Not everyone sees it that way.

The proposal attracted swift blowback from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, prompting Kolkhorst to try and set the record straight. She said in a statement last month that a forthcoming committee substitute would “make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents.”

Kolkhorst insists that the bill is about protecting the state from tyrannical governments in those four countries and not about punishing people fleeing such regimes, but that hasn’t stopped outrage from mounting.

“Even with the changes that Kolkhorst has indicated she’s willing to make, it doesn’t do enough,” said Nabila Mansoor, executive director of Rise AAPI, a Texas-based progressive organization. “And it’s still on its face racist. You’re singling out certain communities of people that are trying to live here legally, and are trying to live a better life for themselves.”

She further decried the bill as “dangerous” and “xenophobic.”

Mansoor believes that if SB 147 were to pass, it could be a “slippery slope.” It’d just take a simple amendment to add other nationalities to the ban, she said, and it runs counter to the idea that Texas is a state that’s welcoming to all.

Private citizens in Texas can already sue those they believe aided and abetted an abortion in violation of state law, Mansoor said. She wonders: Would Kolkhorst’s proposal, then, allow real estate agents to demand that potential buyers show them their citizenship papers? Such unanswered questions surrounding the bill leave it wide open to potential abuse, she said.

SB 147 would also have a chilling effect on foreign investment and send a message to immigrants from those countries that “we don’t trust you,” Mansoor said.

“It really tells us that … those of us who are people of color, none of us are safe,” she said. “It’s just a matter of time before some other world affair interferes in our lives here in Texas.”

“It’s irresponsible, it’s reckless, and we need them to stop.” – Cynthia Choi, Stop AAPI Hate co-founder

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Some state lawmakers have similarly condemned the bill. Texas Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat from Houston who was born in China, told reporters in late January that if the proposal had been law in the 1980s, “he would not be here today.”

But one of Wu’s Republican colleagues sees it a bit differently.

Richmond state Rep. Jacey Jetton, who is Korean American, acknowledged that the bill in its current form is “disturbing.” However, he emphasized that Kolkhorst intends to clarify the section about citizenship and said he doesn’t think she meant any harm.

Jetton said he understands why critics are concerned. His own father-in-law “went to pretty great lengths to flee from China.

“It was a long journey. And during that journey, we want people to begin working and start to enjoy the American dream,” he said. “And so I understand the story of many Asian immigrants coming here to the United States and what their intentions are, and we want them to feel welcome.”

Jetton said the bill is “very unconstitutional” as it’s written now but that “it’s not the desired intent.” He added that Kolkhorst “can’t modify the bill until it’s referred to committee and she can provide a committee substitute, and so she’s a little bit stuck.”

Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said such a ban on land ownership would have a “devastating impact on Chinese immigrants here” and prevent them from settling down with their families.

It also speaks to the broader stigma long faced by Chinese people in the U.S. and sends the message that “we don’t belong,” she said.

The AAPI community has been scapegoated for the coronavirus pandemic for nearly three years, Choi said, resulting in a spike in racism and violence against Asian Americans. When politicians and elected officials use their platform to stoke fear, it puts those communities in harm’s way, she added.

“What we’re seeing through our data is that while community members are going about their daily lives, they are being verbally harassed, being told to go back to China, being blamed, and it’s really mimicking the rhetoric of elected officials that have said we are to be feared,” Choi said.

Even if Kolkhorst’s bill doesn’t pass, it’s already sparked fear among AAPI people, she continued: “It’s irresponsible, it’s reckless, and we need them to stop.”