Jerry Pi identifies as a conservative and has donated to Republican candidates for years. He recalled how he started leaning into politics during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s senate confirmation hearings in 2018.
“I feel like he was really targeted and there was injustice done to him,” Pi said, adding that people on the “left” unfairly portrayed Kavanaugh.
Now he feels the target is on him and Chinese Americans.
Pi said he feels betrayed by Republicans in the Texas house and senate who have filed at least four separate bills seeking to limit the way non-U.S. citizens from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia buy land in the state.
“You always have the impression that this country is going to uphold the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Pi said. “Now, the government is saying that is really not the case for some of you.”
“This is a totally different level of hurt,” he added.
In January, Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that he would sign Senate Bill 147, filed by Texas Republican Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, if passed.
These state initiatives come on the heels of a slew of bills proposed by Texas Republicans in Congress to increase scrutiny of Chinese companies and their advocates, including closing foreign lobbying loopholes and a TikTok ban.
Regardless of whether these initiatives are passed, some people from these countries feel unfairly attacked solely for their national origin.
“There is a type of racism when there are stereotypes from people, or people don’t like you,” Pi said. “I think those things, in a way, are less hurtful because you can brush it away; you can walk away, hold your head high and you’re fine, but this is not something you can ignore; this is going to impact your community.”
Even as reports of anti-Asian hate spiked during the pandemic, Pi said he wanted to protect his son from some of the “ugliness of society,” and focused on teaching him how to be a good person. But he feels the recent string of bills is rooted in anti-Chinese sentiments and now wants to get involved.
“I’m not a quitter; I’m going to fight for my version of America,” said Pi, who owns a software startup.
Pi said bills like Texas Senate Bill 147 are a sign that some are doubling down on anti-Asian and anti-Chinese sentiment.
“I still label myself as a conservative, but what I see the GOP doing is not being conservative in principle at all,” Pi said.
Kolkhorst has disputed criticism that says a focus on Chinese ownership is a reflection of an ugly, racist agenda.
Many House Democrats, including State Rep. Rafael Anchía, have criticized Senate Bills 147 and 552, in part, because they target individual citizens. He has also said that tools already exist to prevent land purchases that are national security threats.
At least one Democrat, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, signed on as a co-author of Senate Bill 147. Hinojosa’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the legislation.
Bills cause a stir
The bills sparked protests in Austin, Dallas and Houston. Kolkhorst has said she would move away from the total ban, telling a Senate committee on March 2 she would amend the bill to include exceptions for permanent residents and dual citizens.
Kolkhorst has defended her bill, describing it as an effort to increase national security from countries deemed as threats by the federal government. After more than 100 people — the majority of whom were Asian American — spoke out against the bill at the March 2 hearing in Austin, she said further concessions are “on the table.”
“As the bill has developed, I think that we’ve tried to be better about saying you can be from any of these countries and buy a home,” said Kolkhorst, told The Dallas Morning News in early March. “You don’t even have to be here legally.”
Senate Bill 711, authored by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, seeks to ban “prohibited foreign actors” from buying real estate without a “written notice to the seller.” Perry’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Prohibited foreign actors, according to the bill, are people or companies that have ties to countries that are listed as a risk to U.S. national security under the Director of National Intelligence’s annual threat assessment. The 2023 report includes China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
After the seller is provided the notice, they would have the power to “immediately revoke any promise to sell the property” under the 711 bill, which also directs courts to “dismiss any action brought against a seller for revoking a promise to sell real property,” based on the notice.
Concerns over Chinese ownership of land in Texas spiked after lawmakers learned that a Chinese subsidiary purchased about 140,000 acres near Laughlin Air Force Base in Val Verde County.
During the 2021 legislative session, both Democrats and Republicans passed SB 2116, which bans business “agreements relating to critical infrastructure,” with companies held or controlled by people with citizenships from China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.
Fighting back
Hailong Jin, board director of DFW Chinese Alliance organized a Dallas rally against Senate Bills 147 and 552 in February, and in early March bused down to Austin for the SB 147 hearing.
He also attended a town hall meeting led by Jeff Leach and Matthew Shaheen, state representatives from North Texas.
“It says an individual who is a citizen of China, North Korea, Iran and Russia, it says, cannot purchase land in the state of Texas,” Shaheen said in reference to SB 147 at the town hall. “That’s wrong, and we and many other legislators are going to work to either strike that part or change the language significantly.”
The communication at the senate hearing and the town hall meeting seemed “one-way,” and ineffective, Jin said. Changing the language in the bills is not enough, Jin said.
“We’re telling them that this is discriminatory, but they don’t agree and they sound like they can do anything under the umbrella of national security,” Jin said.
If the bills targeting the property rights of immigrants from the four countries pass this session, Jin thinks more Chinese Americans in North Texas will jump in to fight a “systematic force” that seeks to hurt their community.
DFW Chinese Alliance will poll Texas elected officials’ opinions on the bills, and later, how the lawmakers vote on them, Jin said. The organization plans to disseminate that information to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the area — many of whom are “swing voters,” he said.
“We will … make sure that they are aware that this will affect our votes in the future.”
Russian-speaking and Iranian Americans
Other communities are nervous about the impact of these bills, too.
Dozens went to the Texas Capitol in February to call on legislators to support alternatives to SB 147 that they say would target “bad actors” from Iran’s regime, rather than all Iranians who come to the state for opportunities, said Kimia Aubin, a spokesperson for IranzVoiceDFW.
Aubin, who said she was born in the U.S. and grew up in Garland, reached out to others in the Iranian American community after hearing about SB 147.
“I waffled on this,” Aubin said. At first, she said, she supported banning the purchase of land hoping to “filter out these nefarious Islamic regime characters.” Now, Aubin said she doesn’t believe the legislation will stop bad actors and it will instead do more harm than good.
“I get it. We want to protect Texas,” Aubin said. “This is not the way to do it. It’s casting such a wide net. … It’s a very dirty way to go about doing this where you don’t care about the collateral damage.”
Aubin said she doesn’t believe SB 147 will address well-funded and well-connected people with ties to Iran’s regime who she said are already in the U.S., but instead harm Iranians who are in search of the “American dream,” who want to buy property to start small businesses.
“Only well-meaning people, innocent people are going to be punished for something that’s a little ambitious,” Aubin said. “If the goal is to filter out these nefarious regime affiliates, we need strengthened sanctions. We need better vetting of the visa [and] refugee application process.”
Kate Cheptene attends the River of Life Baptist Church in Plano, which has Russian-speaking congregation members from different parts of North Texas.
Cheptene, a U.S. citizen who immigrated from Moldova, said she was not familiar with Senate Bill 147 or 552, but said she sees a problem with people who live outside the United States buying land in the country.
“If you live here, you have family here, you work here, why not?” Cheptene said. “If you’re outside of the country and just doing business here, that may be questionable.”
Cheptene said she would not have a problem with having to provide proof of her citizenship when buying real estate.
Vasily Dmitrievsky, a pastor at the Plano church, said many Americans with ties to Russian-speaking nations are here because they don’t like Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Some keep their Russian citizenship, not because they love Putin, but because they still have family and friends in the country, he added.
“They work, they work hard, they pay their taxes, they invest in their communities in different ways,” Dmitrievsky said.
