Democrats push back against bill to limit foreign land ownership in Texas

AUSTIN — If a proposed state law that would bar citizens of China and other nations with "hostile" intentions toward the United States from buying real estate in Texas had been in effect when he was growing up, state Rep. Gene Wu said his family would not have been allowed to purchase the home he grew up in.

Wu, a six-term Democrat who was born in China and as a child moved with his family to Houston, said at a news conference Wednesday that the legislation would have a chilling effect for anyone fleeing oppression and seeking freedom in the United States.

"I am here in defense of the American dream," said Wu, who was joined by more than a dozen other Democratic lawmakers who said they oppose Senate Bill 147 by Brenham Republican Lois Kolkhorst. "This is what we are all here to defend and protect."

The measure follows legislation enacted in 2021 that prohibits the government, businesses and citizens of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from owning or controlling critical infrastructure projects in Texas. The new bill would prohibit those countries and their entities from purchasing Texas land.

Wu said the citizenship process for him and his family took about a decade. He said he voted for the 2021 measure, but the latest effort goes too far. The bill, filed in November, went largely unnoticed until Gov. Greg Abbott mentioned in a tweet that he'd sign it if both chambers pass it during the current legislative session.

The governor, asked during a news conference of his own about the potential unintended consequences of Senate Bill 147, said the measure's final language is likely to be tweaked as it works its way through the legislative process.

More:Proposed law would bar China, Russia, Iran and N. Korea from owning property in Texas

"We have a goal here, and that's to prevent countries that are hostile to the interests of the United States from being able to buy farmland or other things," Abbott said, adding that it should not apply to "people who either are citizens or intend to be citizens of the United States."

Kolkhorst said in a news release that she filed SB 147 because "ownership of Texas land by some foreign entities is highly disturbing and raises red flags." In a statement following the Democrats' news conference, she agreed that the bill's wording needs revision.

"The bill will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents," Kolkhorst said. "This has always been about common-sense safeguards against Russian, North Korean, Chinese and Iranian authoritarian regimes, not those fleeing the tyranny of those governments who seek freedom in Texas."

But Wu and other Democrats said legislation that seeks to exclude classes of people from owning property reawakens painful memories of discrimination for members of minority groups. Wu said the bill was a modern version of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which according to the National Archives "provided an absolute 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States."

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said the deed restriction on his home in San Antonio that was built in 1939 states "No Jews, No Mexicans, No Blacks" could have purchased it new.

"We're beginning to learn how to listen to dog whistles," Martinez Fischer said.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas Democrats push back against bill to limit foreign land ownership