Chinese citizens in Texas outraged by proposal to ban them from buying property in the state

Activist Ling Luo says her Chinese community in Texas has gone from fear to rage and they are demanding that their voices be heard.

They take to the streets by the hundreds across the state, pleading with elected officials to repeal legislation they fear could threaten their future.

The bill, introduced in the Texas Senate in late December, has been gaining momentum over the past month and has been a bombshell for Asian Americans and other residents of the state. SB 147 prohibits Chinese citizens from purchasing any property in Texas, including homes.

Luo said it was a shocking premise, inconsistent with everything she envisioned America when she moved here in 1997, but by the time she heard about the bill, it already had the backing of a major player in Texas politics. Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican tweeted last month“I will sign.

“It follows from the law that I signed prohibiting these countries from threatening our infrastructure,” he continued.

The bill, introduced by state senator Lois Colkhorst, a Republican, also applies to citizens and organizations in North Korea, Iran and Russia. It does not establish any exceptions for lawful permanent residents, visa holders or dual citizens.

Colkhorst did not respond to a request for comment. In a press release announcing the bill, she said it was an attempt to protect Texans.

Lin Luo.
Lin Luo.Council of Asian American Leaders

“Growing land ownership in Texas by some foreign entities is of great concern and alarm to many Texans,” Colkhorst said in a press release. “For comparison, as an American, try buying land next to a Chinese military base and see what happens. It will never happen there, nor should it happen here. The passage of this law provides some basic guarantees to ensure that Texans retain control of Texas land.” The Chinese population in Texas in 2021 was estimated at 235,000. Luo fears that if the bill is passed in its current form, that number will decrease.

Asians say the legislation is using national security as a front to further persecute and blame their communities. They are angry, they say, and wonder if they are really welcome in Texas.

As a Chinese immigrant who became a US citizen many years ago, Luo feels lucky. But she remembers the promise the US once made to her and now says that dream is crumbling in the immigrants around her.

“They are afraid: “I just got a green card. I can no longer buy property. How will I live here?” she said. “Renting is not as good as the freedom to own your own home. It’s the dream of everyone all over the world.”

So she created an activist group, the Asian American Leadership Council, specifically to oppose the bill and posted it on the popular Chinese social network WeChat.

Within days, hundreds of people stood behind her, including other leading voices in Texas.

In addition to spreading the word about the bill, Luo and the Asian American Leadership Council encouraged concerned residents to write and call their lawmakers, even providing templates for those who don’t know where to start. She hopes it doesn’t come to that, she said, but she even prepares people to testify before the Texas Legislature.

“There are people who are asking if they need to leave the state like they are right now,” said Democratic Rep. Jin Woo, representing the Chinese-majority area. “I have never seen the Chinese community so active and motivated in my entire adult life. The community is on fire right now. They are furious. “

Hundreds of people marched through Austin and Dallas to protest SB 147 on 29 January. Since then, the movement has only grown across the state, and last week Wu, Luo, and about 1,000 other Texans held a rally in Houston. “Stop hating Asians” and “Stop isolating Chinese,” some of the posters read.

Wu recalls his childhood when his parents, who had visas, bought their first house together.

“My question is, what does my childhood home, this dainty little house that my parents bought for $60,000, have to do with national security? I didn’t get a response,” he said.

Protesters in Houston, Texas organize on Feb. 11, 2023 against State Senate Bill 147, which would ban citizens from China and three other countries from buying property in the state.
On Saturday, protesters in Houston denounce State Senate Bill 147. Asian American Leadership Council

He drew comparisons to national legislation in the 1800s and 1900s that was primarily designed to prevent Asian farmers from buying land in several states, such as the Alien Laws. Others say it is reminiscent of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which completely banned the immigration of Chinese workers to the US.

What worries Wu the most, he said, is that the bill is gaining support among Republicans in Texas.

“There is the idea of ​​eternal alienation, the idea that Asian Americans can never be truly American, they can never be truly loyal, they can never truly be one of us,” he said. “And that’s what our community has been struggling with ever since the notion of ‘Asian American’ came into existence.”

The Asia-Pacific Congressional Caucus, chaired by Rep. Judy Chu, D-California, condemned SB 147 in a message sent out Wednesday.

“While we do not object to restrictions on foreign government-owned enterprises or entities, companies or individuals associated with foreign governments to purchase agricultural land or property, we strongly object to any legislation—whether federal, state, or local— which prohibits an individual from owning land or property solely on the basis of their country of origin,” the statement said.

While four countries are specifically named in the bill, Luo said she is concerned that there will be repercussions for all Asian communities and that others could be scapegoated.

“If we’re here legally, why should we be expelled?” She said. “You are targeting stateless people, but how do you determine who is a citizen? Will we have to carry our passports in our purse every day?”

Protesters in Houston, Texas organize on Feb. 11, 2023 against State Senate Bill 147, which would ban citizens from China and three other countries from buying property in the state.
Asian Texas residents say the proposed law is using national security as a cover to further harass and blame their communities. Council of Asian American Leaders

The bill is unconstitutional and is unlikely to be adopted, the expert believes.

Some of the bills introduced in the Texas Legislature are symbolic, said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. He says SB 147 could be one of them.

According to him, in its current form, the bill could harm the state’s economy.

“They didn’t take into account that you have a non-trivial number of legal permanent residents and citizens who also have passports from these countries,” he said. “They also didn’t fully consider the impact this could have on residential housing or commercial property.”

Jones said he was almost certain the bill would not pass in its current form. Depriving foreign governments of their rights is one thing, he says, while depriving individuals of their rights is quite another.

“This article would be unconstitutional,” he said. “That would be effective discrimination against a subset of the group based solely on their national origin.”

After the backlash began, Kolkhorst told local media she planned to make several changes to the bill.

“In replacing the committee, the bill will be crystal clear that the bans do not apply to citizens of the United States and lawful permanent residents,” she said in a statement.

Kolkhorst did not mention the visa holders, and so far no updates have been made to the bill. The people of China aren’t sure they ever will.

“The community fully expects them to do this,” Wu said. “Because I think there is an expectation that they will do some terrible thing that they are going to do. … It’s very, very popular with Republicans.”

Luo said the introduction of the bill had already undermined Asian Americans’ faith in Texas. Chinese residents on both sides of the political aisle approached her and Wu in shock that something like this could happen. She said she doesn’t consider herself a political party fighter – she just wants her community to be safe.

Ultimately, she said, despite the fact that the bill targets China, it is the Texans who will suffer.

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