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Under the guise of state security, Texas Senate introduces bill targeting Asian ownership of land [1]

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Date: 2023-02-14  

In her press release first announcing the bill, Kolkhorst spoke of a 2021 land purchase of over 130,000 acres by a Chinese-controlled firm. She claimed that if passed, this bill would protect others from buying big aspects of land and would provide “basic safeguards to ensure Texans remain in control of Texas land.”

Of course, this isn’t the first bill of its kind in the Texas Senate or House. According to KWHI, Senator Donna Campbell filed SB 552 to ban citizens and companies from the same four countries from purchasing or leasing agricultural land in Texas, while Representative Cody Harris filed HB 1075 to prevent any foreign governments or companies controlled by a foreign government from owning agricultural land.

Asian American advocates and lawmakers alike have criticized the bill, noting that it is racist, specifically targeting Asians who already work to drive the local economy.

“This type of legislation. This growing anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiment is a direct attack on our community and on our city, quite frankly,” Representative Gene Wu said.

According to Kolkhorst, if passed, the bill will be clarified to reflect that private, legal United States citizens and permanent residents will still be able to purchase land despite their racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Additionally, other state lawmakers, including those in Florida and Arkansas, have proposed laws banning citizens of China from buying land, homes, and other buildings in the country, USA Today reported. The lawmakers claim these proposals protect Americans from the Chinese government, which they accuse of spying and theft.

"It is scapegoating, it's stigmatizing, and it plays into the view of Chinese Americans and Asian Americans as the perpetual foreigner: They can never be American enough," said Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance and founder of Stop AAPI Hate. "And when you put these policies into place, you perpetuate that stigma and the attacks on Asian Americans."

According to The Los Angeles Times, the tension between the U.S. and China has only worsened since Abbott’s tweet showcasing his support for the bill.

Advocates noted that such legislation would also increase already present anti-Asian hate.

The Texas legislation will make some people more “willing to express their hatred toward certain race groups,” said Hao Zhu, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “From COVID, already just because of our skin color, we were hated.”

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/14/2152734/-Under-the-guise-of-state-security-Texas-Senate-introduces-bill-targeting-Asian-ownership-of-land

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