Texas moves closer to land ban for non-resident citizens of China, Russia, others

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Legislature voted to make it illegal for citizens of China, North Korea, Iran and Russia to own Texas land if they’re not legally residing in the United States.

On Friday, the Texas House voted to pass Senate Bill 17 after adding seven amendments to the bill on Thursday evening. The bill will now head back to the Senate to either adopt the House’s changes, or to start a conferencing committee to find common ground.

Background

In 2021, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill 2116,

preventing China, North Korea, Iran and Russia from connecting to critical Texas infrastructure due to national security concerns.

In 2023, State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, tried to build off the legislation by preventing citizens of the same nations from buying Texas land.

“Texans have raised concerns of national security ranging from energy security to food security,” Kolkhorst wrote in her statement of intent. “Preventing private property rights from being controlled by entities from adversarial nations is key to ensuring national security.”

The bill underwent several changes due to concerns over rights violations and was eventually killed in the Texas House.

‘This guts the bill’: Controversy over amendments

State Sen. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, introduced an amendment to make those who live in the U.S. legally eligible to buy land regardless of nationality. While the amendment passed 120-19, it immediately drew backlash from some conservative activists and lawmakers on social media.

“3/4 of Republicans vote to allow Chinese nationals with student visas to buy land,” Former Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi said on X. “Just enroll in an ESL course at a local community college and you are good.”

“Here’s a short explanation on how this guts the bill,” Rinaldi said in a follow-up post. “Chinese nationals (even those who are members of the CCP) are not prohibited from getting tourist visas (B-2). Once in the United States, immigration lawyers will advise them to enroll in an ESL or other course at a local community college, so they can change their status to a student visa (F-1), which can last 5 years.”

Rinaldi supported three other amendments brought forward by Republicans. The first, by State Rep. Steve Toth, R-Spring, prevented citizens of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from leasing land for more than a year. Previously, the bill allowed for 99-year leases.

The second, brought forward by State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Dallas, prevented those who are “a member of the ruling political party or any subdivision of the ruling political party in a designated country,” from owning Texas land.

The last, brought by State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, allows the governor to designate new nations to the designated country list at will. Schatzline specifically mentioned Venezuela and the gang Tren de Aragua as a reason the governor may have to act quickly.

‘Discrimination is discrimination’: Fears of amendment getting stripped

On Friday before the third reading, two attempts were made to undo the controversial Shaheen amendment. Both times the amendments failed because they didn’t receive the two-thirds majority needed to amend a bill on third reading, but both times they received a majority vote.

“The [Shaheen] amendment… it’s not in the Senate bill,” Chuck Guo said. Guo is a Chinese citizen who practices immigration law in Texas on a H-1B visa. “They will maybe listen to the proponents of the bill to strengthen the bill and to strip the [Shaheen] amendment from the bill that will eventually become law.”

Guo has been concerned about SB 17 since it was first floated as SB 147 in 2023. On Saturday morning, he’s helping host a rally outside the Texas Capitol in opposition to the bill.

“Discrimination is still discrimination,” Guo said. “It is targeting the entire community and is creating a chilling effect.”