SB 147 is a controversial Texas bill aimed at preventing foreign entities from countries deemed as “national security threats” (Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia) from purchasing or owning property in the state. Texas Senator Louis W. Kolkhorst first introduced the bill in late December. According to Kolkhorst, “the growing ownership of Texas land by some foreign entities is highly disturbing… passing this law delivers some basic safeguards to ensure Texans remain in control of Texas land.”
Unfortunately, in its original version, the bill made no exceptions for Chinese nationals permanently residing in the United States and would have made it impossible for many Asian Americans to own homes in the state. In addition, Governor Greg Abbott announced he would sign the bill if it passed the Texas legislature. In a Tweet, he explicitly acknowledged that the legislation would ban not only the “governments & entities of China,” but as well as its citizens from purchasing land in January.
In the following months, the bill drew fierce protest from the Asian American community. Over a hundred people testified at a public hearing for the bill last Thursday.
In response, Kolkhorst announced to a Senate committee that she would support a substitute bill that would “make clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents, including dual citizens,” nor would they apply to homesteads. She emphasized that the bill’s goal was to prevent authoritarian regimes from threatening Texas security, not to restrict Chinese individuals from owning homes.
If national security were the genuine concern, then it would be an inordinate response to the nominal amount of land owned by Chinese foreigners. According to the Congressional Research Service, China accounted for 393,935 acres of land in Texas in 2021, or just 0.9% of the total amount of land owned by foreign entities. Indeed, the highest foreign landholders were from Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, and the UK - all non-security threats. Iran, North Korea, and Russia accounted for less than 3,000 acres altogether.
The measures taken by the substitute bill are equally unnecessary. In the name of security, the bill would require individuals associated with countries that threatened national security - including Chinese American permanent residents - to disclose their Chinese citizenship to sellers within ten days of closing on a property. After which, a seller would be entitled to revoke the sale, and the Texas attorney general would investigate the buyer.
Suppose the Texas legislature could not entirely restrict Chinese American permanent residents from purchasing land. In that case, it seems to be bent on making the process as difficult and discriminatory as possible. For Good reason, Asian-American communities remain concerned.
The bill would make a sweeping generalization of all Chinese people living in the US and conflate Chinese people with the Chinese government. It would legitimize the paranoia that Chinese people were outsiders and alienate them from other Texans.
Texas Democrat Gene Wu has been particularly vocal against SB 147 and the committee substitute. “We don't disagree that there is a real national security interest, but in passing a law that blanketly harms an entire community and labels on our community without cause as enemies of this country, not only does not protect our national interests, but may do our own community more harm than is actually warranted” (Wu).
Aside from labeling any Chinese American as a supposed threat, the bill would also justify the intentional discrimination of Chinese Americans in house purchases. After learning that a perfectly qualified buyer was a Chinese national, sellers would be permitted to renege a closed sale.
The bill was rejected and remains pending approval from the Senate Committee before being passed onto the entire senate. If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1st, 2023.
While the bill is fortunately still facing hurdles against enactment, it should remain as a dire warning against all AsianAmericans: the attempted legalization of excluding Chinese Americans from property purchases is another way to isolate us and feed on the paranoia that assumes we are identical to the Chinese government. The same rhetoric justified violent hate crimes against us, and now it is being used to drive us out of our communities. We ought to resist through protests and vocalizing ourselves. If you live in Texas, call your senator and tell them you oppose the bill. If you live outside of Texas, cast your support for the advocacy groups leading the protest.
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