Greg Abbott is hopping on the “tell me you’re a racist without telling me you’re a racist” trend with his support for a new bill that restricts certain foreign ownership of Texas lands. Introduced by State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, Senate Bill 147 aims to prohibit citizens, businesses, or entities from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia from making land purchases in Texas. While the bill is still going through the legal process of becoming legislation, Gov. Abbott has indicated his intentions to sign the bill should it come to him, adding that this goal is to stop “countries that are hostile to the interest of the United States” from buying up parcels of Texas.
The bill allegedly roots from SB 2116 from the 2021 Texas Legislature, which prevents those same four countries from entering into contracts or agreements in connection to critical infrastructure in Texas, KWHI reported. Kolkhorst questioned why people are so critical of this new bill when that bill passed unanimously; according to her, other states have some form of restriction on foreign national land ownership, too.
Campaign Action
In her press release first announcing the bill, Kolkhorst spoke of a 2021 land purchase of over 130,000 acres by a Chinese-controlled firm. She claimed that if passed, this bill would protect others from buying big aspects of land and would provide “basic safeguards to ensure Texans remain in control of Texas land.”
Of course, this isn’t the first bill of its kind in the Texas Senate or House. According to KWHI, Senator Donna Campbell filed SB 552 to ban citizens and companies from the same four countries from purchasing or leasing agricultural land in Texas, while Representative Cody Harris filed HB 1075 to prevent any foreign governments or companies controlled by a foreign government from owning agricultural land.
Asian American advocates and lawmakers alike have criticized the bill, noting that it is racist, specifically targeting Asians who already work to drive the local economy.
“This type of legislation. This growing anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiment is a direct attack on our community and on our city, quite frankly,” Representative Gene Wu said.
According to Kolkhorst, if passed, the bill will be clarified to reflect that private, legal United States citizens and permanent residents will still be able to purchase land despite their racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Additionally, other state lawmakers, including those in Florida and Arkansas, have proposed laws banning citizens of China from buying land, homes, and other buildings in the country, USA Today reported. The lawmakers claim these proposals protect Americans from the Chinese government, which they accuse of spying and theft.
"It is scapegoating, it's stigmatizing, and it plays into the view of Chinese Americans and Asian Americans as the perpetual foreigner: They can never be American enough," said Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance and founder of Stop AAPI Hate. "And when you put these policies into place, you perpetuate that stigma and the attacks on Asian Americans."
According to The Los Angeles Times, the tension between the U.S. and China has only worsened since Abbott’s tweet showcasing his support for the bill.
Advocates noted that such legislation would also increase already present anti-Asian hate.
The Texas legislation will make some people more “willing to express their hatred toward certain race groups,” said Hao Zhu, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “From COVID, already just because of our skin color, we were hated.”
We're chatting with one of our favorite fellow election analysts on The Downballot, Kyle Kondik of Sabato's Crystal Ball. Kyle helped call races last year for CBS and gives us a rare window inside a TV network's election night decision desk, which literally has a big button to call control of the House—that no one got to press. Kyle also dives into his new race ratings for the 2024 Senate map, including why he thinks Joe Manchin's unlikely tight-rope act might finally come to an end.