Recent changes to legislation that would ban Chinese, North Korean, Iranian and Russian citizens from buying property in Texas did little to assuage fears among Asian Americans, dozens of whom testified before a Senate panel on Thursday about the effects such a ban could have on members of the fastest-growing segment of the state’s population.
Many testified before the State Affairs Committee that they have been living and working in Texas for years on employment visas and would still be unable to buy a home under the bill, even after its author added carve-outs for those with green cards or who are fleeing authoritarian regimes.
Others testified that it took them years to get green cards or become citizens because of deep backlogs and long wait times. The legislation, which has the support of Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican state leaders, likely would have prevented them from buying homes in which they raised their families, they said.
Wei Li told the committee that he has lived in the U.S. for 17 years and will finally be eligible to apply for citizenship later this month.
"But I am already Texan," said Li, a college professor. "I can cook perfect, moist brisket. I even understand how to use 'bless your heart' properly."
Li said he is raising "four young Texans, proudly." The legislation, he said, is a slight on himself and his children.
“It scoffs at me: 'Sorry, you’re not Texan. People like you would not even deserve to own a home,'" he said through tears.
The bill's author, state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, says it is a response to attempts by Chinese nationals with connections to the communist regime who have been buying land in Texas. She has pointed to a Chinese energy company's attempt to purchase 130,000 acres for wind farms near Del Rio as alarming because it would be just 70 miles from Laughlin Air Force Base.
The legislation has been cheered by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land doubled from 2009 to 2019, and Texas is home to the most foreign-owned acreage in the United States.
“It’s no secret that America’s adversaries — emboldened by this administration’s displays of weakness — are growing more aggressive by the day,” McCaul said in a statement. “As the spy balloon revealed, the Chinese Communist Party knows no bounds when it comes to espionage, and they are already making dangerous moves to secure land near our military bases.”
Kolkhorst made changes to the legislation ahead of the hearing that she said were meant to “make it crystal clear that dual citizens and legal permanent residents are able to purchase property. In fact, anyone fleeing these authoritarian regimes will be able to purchase a home.”
The bill originally banned all citizens of China, North Korea, Iran and Russia from buying any land in Texas, which state leaders view as a threat to U.S. interests. Even green card holders — legal residents — would have been prevented from buying land in the original bill.
More than 100 individuals were signed up to testify before the committee, said state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, towards the beginning of the hours-long hearing. The vast majority of those who spoke opposed the legislation, even as some thanked Kolkhorst for making revisions and urged her to change it further.
Those who testified said they believe the bill is discriminatory and violates property rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. They feared it would fuel the anti-Asian sentiment that has led to an increase in hate crimes since the coronavirus pandemic began. And they called it an echo of a dark history in the country of discriminating against Asian Americans, including in the Chinese Exclusion Act of the 1800s and the Japanese internment camps of World War II.
Many testified about the direct effects the legislation would have on themselves and their families.
One man, who said he moved to the U.S. to study 11 years ago and now lives in Austin, said he recently decided to stay. His employer had decided to sponsor his green card, and he was starting to look for a starter home. But the immigration process could take years, and now he wonders if he would be better off moving to Seattle, where he lived before coming to Texas.
Another man told the committee that he and his wife decided to buy their first house when their son was born 19 years ago in Plano. Neither were green card holders or citizens, he said. But, "at that moment, we truly felt that Texas was our home."
He said his son grew up a Texan and loves the state so much that he has a huge state flag hanging in his dorm room at his New England college.
"If there was a law like SB147, I don’t think my family could find a home in Texas," he said.
ben.wermund@houstonchronicle.com
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