Democrats slam Republican bill banning foreign land investment in Texas as racist

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AUSTIN Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, stood inside the Texas Capitol holding a photo of the childhood home he grew up in in Houston after emigrating from China.

The Wus family bought the one-story white house. But a Senate bill by Senator Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, would prevent the Wus family, as well as citizens, businesses and governments of China, Iran, North Korea or Russia from buying land in Texas, a proposal angering Wu and others. . Governor Greg Abbott said on Twitter this month that he would sign the bill if it reached his office this session.

Wu was among several Democratic lawmakers who called the bill racist on Wednesday and said it was a painful reminder of similar legislation passed by Congress more than a century ago. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited Chinese immigration for 10 years and was repealed in 1943.

It’s especially painful for the Asian American community because we’ve been down this road before, Wu said. It’s extremely disappointing and extremely painful for the Asian community to see this continue to happen.

In a written statement, Kolkhorst said national security and growing foreign ownership of Texas land are top concerns for many Texans, motivating her to file the measure.

The bill addresses a matter of national security and will preserve our precious private property rights and constitutional freedoms, she said. This bill will make clear that the prohibitions do not apply to US citizens and lawful permanent residents.

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Kolkhorst did not explain how she chose China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Abbott also defended the bill at a press conference with reporters on Wednesday after signing an infrastructure agreement with the US military. He said Wus’ example of families like his not being able to buy land is a misinterpretation.

It has no impact on people who are citizens or intend to be citizens of the United States, Abbott said. There are people who emigrate legally, from China, and it would have no impact on them.

As filed, however, Kolkhorst’s bill makes no distinction between people who emigrate from China and those who become US citizens. The bill specifies that it applies to a person who is a citizen of China, Iran, North Korea or Russia, but makes no mention of immigration status.

Wu said the part that irritates him the most is how foreign citizens would not be able to buy land until they become U.S. citizens, which could take several years. State property law currently provides that an alien has the same real and personal property rights as a US citizen.

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To become a US citizen, you have to wait patiently while you have a visa to get your green card to get your lawful permanent residence, and while you are a lawful permanent resident, you have to wait patiently to become a US citizen. , says Wu. When this law talks about citizenship of a foreign nation, it means people who have been waiting patiently, sometimes for decades, to become American citizens.

Wu held a similar press conference Monday in Houston, backed by at least 100 people protesting Kolkhorsts Senate Bill 147.

His bill follows similar calls by national Republicans. Former President Donald Trump has said he would ban Chinese citizens from owning American farmland and businesses if he wins a second term in 2024.

State Representative Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, an attorney, questioned the constitutionality of the bills. He also said it would hurt immigrants who start businesses.

I know this will negatively impact what is supposed to be the most business-friendly state in the union, said Bhojani, one of six Asian American members of the Legislative Assembly. Our job as lawmakers is to fight for the rights of every Texan who was born here and Texans who were born in another country.

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