Houston lawmaker speaks out against Texas bill that would restrict foreign land ownership | Houston Public Media

A Houston legislator and civil rights advocates voiced opposition this week to a proposed Texas law that would ban some people from designated foreign countries — such as China and Russia — from owning land in the state.

House Bill 17, authored by Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner of northeast Texas, also would apply to some people from Iran and North Korea as well as any other country designated by the Texas governor. Companies headquartered in the aforementioned countries, and governmental entities of those nations, also would not be allowed to purchase or acquire property in Texas under the proposed law.

State Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat, joined the nonprofit Asian Texans for Justice in speaking out against the bill during a Wednesday news conference at the Texas Capitol in Austin. Wu called the proposed legislation a slippery slope.

“What my big concern is, my real concern, is not just the ownership of land, but this is the very first step that we take on our march back to Japanese internment,” said Wu, referring to the United States government’s detainment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

HB 17 has yet to be voted out of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs. If it is, it would need to be passed by the full House and the Texas Senate and then signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before becoming a state law.

The Texas attorney general would be charged with enforcing the proposed law, which would be a state jail felony punishable by a fine of $250,000 or 50% of the market value of the property associated with the violation.

As written, the law would not apply to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, citizens of foreign countries who are not domiciled in one of the designated countries or companies or entities owned or controlled by one or more of those people.

Some of the 200-plus Texas residents who spoke about the bill during a Wednesday committee hearing at the Capitol said they supported the proposed law. And some of those supporters said they do not think it goes far enough to protect the state from being influenced or harmed by interests from China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.

“Texas is not for sale to foreign entities,” said Claire Lingenfelser of Waller, which is northwest of Houston.

Added Christine Kalmbach, who identified herself as a realtor from Houston: “The bill must prohibit both citizens of hostile nations from buying real property and not just those domiciled in hostile nations, as this can be easily manipulated.”

A majority of the speakers during Wednesday’s hearing, many of whom are from the Houston area, said they oppose the proposed legislation, with some calling it racist and discriminatory.

Wu echoed that sentiment, saying HB 17 would mark a return to exclusionary laws from the past.

“They were passed for the same reasons, they use the same rhetoric, the same arguments, and they are doing it to basically the same groups of people,” Wu said. “And this is why I’m afraid. We have done this before.”