“Why should I have to bring my U.S. passport to prove my worthiness when buying property when you guys don’t?”
Peter Lai asked the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs during a public hearing in March about SB 147, as Texas considered a bill barring certain immigrants from owning property. At the same hearing, Alice Yi, representing Asian Texans for Justice and the Asian American Leadership Council, explained to the committee: “It would put all people who look like me, any Asians, into a third-class citizenship, because we would have to prove our current immigration status and where we come from when we want to purchase any land or a house.” When a similar bill was debated in the Florida legislature, eight-year-old Jia Jing Chen asked the Florida House State Affairs Committee during a public hearing in April: “Did Chinese people do something bad to Florida?”
In 2021, there were nearly 45.3 million immigrants living in the U.S. In 2018, one in six Texas residents and one in five Florida residents were immigrants. However, various bills have been introduced in Alabama, Florida, Texas, and across the country during the 2023 legislative session that would prevent some immigrants from buying property, including Alabama HB 379, Texas SB 147, and Florida bills HB 1355 and SB 264. Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 264 into law, and it will go into effect on July 1, 2023. In addition to making a mockery of the Constitution and causing eight-year-olds to wonder why they’re being targeted, these measures will make immigrants susceptible to hate crimes and abuse. The bills will have devastating consequences for peoples’ livelihoods and safety.
The Alabama bill, which passed both houses on May 24, 2023, would prohibit a member of a political party in China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia from acquiring agricultural property or property within 10 miles of a military installation or critical infrastructure. An earlier version of the bill included any individual who is a Chinese citizen. Despite the amendments, if signed into law, the bill will result in discriminatory treatment and place additional burdens on immigrants from the specified countries.
The Texas bill, which did not pass during the 2023 regular session, targeted immigrants from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Despite public outcry, Texas legislators were opaque about how the bill would be implemented; until April 13, 2023, changes to the bill were not reflected on the Texas Legislature’s website, leaving advocates and organizers in the dark. There are still lingering questions about implementation, particularly regarding the bill’s exemptions.
The Florida law—should it survive inevitable legal challenge—will bar immigrants from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela from purchasing agricultural land and property near critical infrastructure or a military base. The law will also require any immigrants who already own barred property to register with the state. The Florida law imposes an even broader ban on Chinese immigrants, preventing them from purchasing any property at all within the state, with the exception of residential property that is not within five miles of a military installation and is acquired by a person with a valid non-tourist U.S. visa.
Under these measures, somebody who moved to the United States from Iran at a young age and grew up in the country would be ineligible to purchase certain property in Texas or Florida without a Green Card or citizenship. Similarly, a refugee from North Korea who fled from an oppressive government and resettled in Dallas or Miami would be unable to purchase certain properties. Chinese immigrants would also face further scrutiny and discriminatory treatment, as they would be required to prove their eligibility to acquire property in these states.
During that Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing during which Lai testified on March 2, Ling Luo warned that the bill “grants legislatures the power to brand any immigrant group as a security threat in the future.” During a Florida House State Affairs Committee meeting on April 19, 2023, David Chen, a nine-year-old U.S. citizen of Chinese heritage, explained that “if this bill passes, when I grow up, people may assume houses cannot be sold to Chinese individuals.” Chen continued to describe for the legislators the racism inherent to such a bill, “a law that targets only one country can lead to discrimination and hate.”
“During a May 17 Alabama Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee hearing, Jari Chen voiced worries about potential discrimination resulting from the bill’s passage. He stated, ‘Whether people are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, they’ll be judged by their Asian face, and I don’t want my future or anyone else’s future to look like that here in America.'”
Such laws are also blatantly unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause prohibits states from denying “any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” based on characteristics such as national origin. These bills prohibit people from purchasing property based on their national origin. Despite vague claims about protecting national security, the bills are not narrowly tailored to protect a compelling government interest. Instead, these measures would prohibit land acquisition by many individuals with no ties to foreign governments including refugees, undocumented individuals, student visa holders, and athletes, entertainers, and skilled workers without permanent residence. The bills also violate The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin in transactions related to housing. Organizers and community members have expressed outrage in both Texas and Florida, with more than 100 civil rights organizations currently working to oppose the bill in Texas. Numerous Florida-based Bar Associations also issued a joint statement opposing the bills in Florida, before one passed.
There are other major issues with these and similar bills, which exclude a whole host of potential property owners. The path to receiving a Green Card or U.S. citizenship takes years, and some individuals may choose not to become citizens for a variety of reasons. For example, one restaurant owner in Houston told the press that she kept her Chinese citizenship to make it easier to visit family and to avoid government backlash. Unless she holds a Green Card, she would be denied the right to purchase certain property under the Texas bill. Many Iranians in the U.S. similarly keep their Iranian citizenship and passports to make it easier to visit family in the country. During the March Texas Senate hearing, Haiyu Zhou, testified that it took 14 years for him to receive a Green Card. Yao Ming, one of Texas’ most influential athletes and an NBA Hall of Fame inductee, would also be barred from buying certain property in Texas under the version of SB 147 that was under consideration by the Texas House of Representatives.
The legislation in Texas and Florida is in keeping with a long and shameful U.S. history of attacking and discriminating against immigrants by invoking supposed national security concerns. In the 19th and 20th centuries, in response to heightening anti-Asian bias, many states passed discriminatory laws, known as Alien Land Laws, prohibiting non-citizens from owning property. These laws were historically justified by portraying Chinese immigrants as a “threat to the civilization of the United States.” However, the laws were found by various state courts, including the California Supreme Court, to be unconstitutional, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. During World War II, nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated and barred from property ownership, again, under the guise of national security. In 2015, former President Trump enacted the Muslim Ban, which banned some individuals from predominantly Muslim countries from visiting the U.S., invoking national security interests.
The newly enacted Florida law and related bills pending in other states similarly rely on claims of “national security” to justify discrimination. Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed support for SB 147 and claimed that his goal was preventing “countries that are hostile to the interest of the United States” from acquiring real property, defined in the bill as “agricultural land, an improvement located on agricultural land, a mine or quarry, a mineral in place, or a standing timber,” in the state. Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell called the bills “critical to our national security.” After signing the bill, at a press conference, Gov. DeSantis stated: “Today is one example of Florida really leading the nation in terms of what we’re doing to stop the influence of the Chinese Communist party.” In reality, these bills would only prevent individuals from living their daily lives—from starting businesses and owning homes.
Any iteration of these bills will inevitably result in discrimination based on national origin. Although representatives, such as Sen. Kolkhorst, claim that the bills “will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents,” in practice it will be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid a discriminatory impact. Texas Rep. Gene Wu explained: “This is an open invite to intentional discrimination—if someone comes to an open house that looks Asian, people are just going to say ‘Why risk it? No Asians.’”
Gloria Shinkawa, a member of the Japanese American Citizen League, spoke at the March Texas Senate Hearing about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and her father’s experience of being “denied the right to buy property because of prejudice.” As she noted, “in reality, people of Asian descent will not be able to buy property, regardless of them being American citizens.” Jack Lu referred to the incarceration of Japanese Americans as well and stated that if the bill passes, “I will live in terror.”
This wave of discriminatory legislation is particularly troubling given the recent uptick in hate crimes and violence against immigrant communities—just last year, there was a 339 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
One small step towards reversing that horrifying trajectory would be for courts to send the Florida legislation into the dustbin of history.
