Proposed legislation in several US states that would ban citizens of select foreign countries from owning property has sparked concern among civil liberties groups and activists. Bills have been signed into law in Arkansas and Tennessee, while similar measures are being pushed forward in Kansas, Louisiana, Hawaii, and South Carolina. In Texas, a bill to ban citizens of Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, and China from buying farmland advanced to the state Senate. A bill in Florida banning citizens of most of the same countries from buying property near “critical infrastructure” was signed into law last month by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Activists are now receiving support from Washington, where a new bill in the US Congress aims to stop states from discriminating on the basis of citizenship. The proposed federal measure against the state laws was introduced in the US House in late May by Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Al Green, D-Texas.
The bills have alarmed civil liberties groups, who are calling for a federal response to the measures. The proposed federal measure against the state laws aims to preempt state legislation seeking to ban property purchases based on citizenship. The coalition of organizations opposing the bills around the country represent those targeted, including Asian and Iranian American communities. The potential for legislating discrimination based on citizenship has alarmed civil liberties groups, who are calling for a federal response to the measures. Public pressure roused by activists has helped stall some of these bills in state legislatures.
“These bills are 21st century versions of the Alien Land Laws,” said Myriam Sabbaghi, national organizing manager for the National Iranian American Council, which is part of a coalition of groups opposing the laws, referring to a series of proposed laws a century ago banning foreign ownership. “These laws are being passed in southern states with relatively minimal national attention. It could be a slippery slope towards bringing more discrimination based on people’s ethnic identity.”
The Texas bill was originally proposed in response to concerns over plans by a Chinese firm to buy land to build a wind farm, portions of which would have been near a US military base. Although US officials who reviewed the purchase did not deem it to be a threat, the Chinese-run firm involved in the purchase was ultimately forced to sell to a Spanish company. Despite the questionable security benefits of the laws, DeSantis championed the bill in his state as “one example of Florida really leading the nation in terms of what we’re doing to stop the influence of the Chinese Communist party.” The measure in Florida, set to take effect on July 1, would ban property purchases within 10 miles of sites deemed to be critical infrastructure.
Chinese immigrants living in Florida are currently suing over the measure, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying that the laws “will have the net effect of creating ‘Chinese exclusion zones’ that will cover immense portions of Florida, including many of the state’s most densely populated and developed areas.”
“Buying real property – whether that’s a new house to call home or a commercial property to run a business in – is a critical step for immigrant families, students, and refugees to pursue the American Dream,” Chu said in a statement. “While there are specific, legitimate threats that these foreign governments and their state-owned enterprises pose to our national security, banning individuals from purchasing land or properties because of their citizenship, national origin, race, ethnicity, or immigration status is a flagrant assault on their civil rights and unconstitutional.”