AUSTIN — Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu stood inside the Texas Capitol holding a photo of the childhood home in which he grew up in Houston after emigrating from China.
Wu’s family bought the white, single-story house. But a Senate bill from state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican, would prevent Wu’s family, as well as citizens, businesses and governments from China, Iran, North Korea or Russia from buying land in Texas — a proposal raising the ire of Wu and others. Gov. Greg Abbott said on Twitter this month he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk this session.
Wu was among several Democratic lawmakers who decried the bill as racist Wednesday and said it’s a painful reminder of similar legislation that was passed by Congress more than a century ago. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese immigration for 10 years and was repealed in 1943.
“This is especially painful for the Asian American community because we have been down this road before,” Wu said. “It is extremely disappointing and extremely painful for the Asian community to see this continue to happen.”
In a written statement, Kolkhorst said national security and growing foreign ownership of Texas land are “top concerns for many Texans,” motivating her to file the measure.
“The bill addresses a national security issue and will preserve our cherished private property rights and constitutional freedoms,” she said. “This bill will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents.”
Kolkhorst has not explained how she picked China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Abbott also defended the bill in a news conference with reporters Wednesday after signing an infrastructure agreement with the U.S. military. He said Wu’s example of families like his not being able to buy land is a “mischaracterization.”
“It doesn’t impact at all people who either are citizens or intend to be citizens of the United States,” Abbott said. “There are people who emigrate lawfully, from China, and it would not impact them at all.”
As filed, though, Kolkhorst’s bill does not make any distinction between people who emigrate from China and those who become U.S. citizens. The bill does specify it applies to “an individual who is a citizen of China, Iran, North Korea or Russia,” but makes no mention of immigration status.
Wu said the part that irks him the most is how foreign citizens would not be able to purchase land until they become U.S. citizens — which could lag for several years. The state’s law on property currently says, “An alien has the same real and personal property rights as a United States citizen.”
“In order to become an American citizen, you have to wait patiently while you have a visa to get your green card to get your lawful permanent residency, and while you are a lawful permanent resident, you have to wait patiently to become a United States citizen,” Wu said. “When this law says citizenship of a foreign nation, what they’re talking about are people who have been waiting patiently in line, sometimes for decades, to become American citizens.”
Wu held a similar news conference Monday in Houston, supported by at least 100 people protesting Kolkhorst’s Senate Bill 147.
Her bill follows on the heels of similar appeals by national Republicans. Former President Donald Trump has said he would ban Chinese citizens from owning U.S. farmland and U.S. companies if he were to win a second term in 2024.
State Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Euless Democrat and an attorney, questioned the bill’s constitutionality. He also said it would hurt immigrants who start businesses.
“I know that this will have a negative impact on what is supposed to be the most business friendly state in the union,” said Bhojani, one of the six Asian American members in the Legislature. “Our job as legislators is to fight for the rights of every single Texan — Texans who are born here and Texans who are born in another country.”
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