Should Certain Foreign Citizens be Banned From Buying Land in the US?
Summary from AllSides News Team
A proposed Texas senate bill to prohibit select foreign citizens and entities from purchasing land in the state is sparking discussions on national security, xenophobia, and how to distinguish between ethnicity and national allegiance.
The Bill: Proposed Texas Senate Bill 147 would prohibit the purchase of real estate by state agencies, state-affiliated companies, or citizens of China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. A similar bill is being pushed by some GOP lawmakers at the federal level that would ban Chinese citizens and companies from purchasing farmland.
In Favor: Many voices on the right support real estate acquisition restrictions. A piece in Fox News Opinion cited the purchase of “millions of acres” of arable farmland by Chinese citizens and companies to argue in favor of prohibiting legislation, stating, “state legislatures must pass legislation to develop necessary safeguards against foreign acquisition of strategic farmland. With cooperation at all levels of government, we can secure our food supply for generations.”
Opposed: A writer in the Washington Post pushed back on arguments of national security, determining that the current bill follows a historical trend of American lawmakers “cloaking their hostility to Asian immigrants in the language of security.” A writer in the Dallas Morning News, who previously argued in favor of a bill banning companies controlled by the Chinese Communist party from connecting to the Texas power grid, wrote that “from decades of building energy businesses in China, I have learned the importance of distinguishing between the Communist Party and the people it oppresses.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Texas Legislature should not blame the Chinese for Communist Party behavior
With noble notions, Texas Senate Bill 147 to ban Chinese citizens from buying Texas properties misses the mark and costs Texans money. But we can make the bill better to accomplish its objectives.
My opposition to SB 147 may seem to contradict my prior testimony to Texas congressional committees. Two years ago, I urged Texas to ban companies controlled by the Communist Party of China from connecting to the Texas power grid. That was about entities with direct ties to the Chinese government and direct connection to our critical infrastructure....
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