Texas has become the latest state to cement a ban on land and property purchases by individuals or entities from adversarial nations.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17 into law over the weekend, prohibiting countries identified as security threats in the intelligence community's 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, from acquiring "real property" in the state. The countries include China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the bill identified "real property" as agricultural land, commercial or industrial properties, residential properties and land used for mining or water use.
Amid heightened global tensions, there has been an increased appetite for protecting foreign asset acquisitions in the United States. However, these efforts have been criticized by some for being overly broad, arbitrary and potentially discriminatory.
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In response to Abbott's signing of S.B. 17, the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice said it was "outraged" at the legislation that the group said "creates an overly broad net that places innocent foreign nationals at risk of racial profiling."
A similar defense was made by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs after she vetoed a bill seeking to stop Chinese land and property purchases in the state, noting the bill lacked "clear implementation criteria," which opened the door for "arbitrary enforcement." Hobbs, following backlash over her veto, subsequently described the bill as "a watered-down, weak-on-China bill," noting it allowed the communist country to purchase land near military bases for up to three years at a time, and followed up this month with her own version of the bill.
Texas's bill exempts U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Individuals legally residing in the United States wishing to purchase a primary residence are also exempt, as well as leaseholders of less than a year.
The Texas attorney general is authorized through the new legislation to investigate potential violations of the new law, which would be a felony. The law will go into effect on September 1.
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Proponents of measures like the one in Texas have cited efforts by countries like China to purchase land and property near major U.S. military bases. However, it is not just land either, it is assets too.
China has a strong foothold in the U.S. drone market with many law enforcement agencies using Chinese-made DJI drones. The country has also faced scrutiny for building solar converters in the U.S. that can be tapped for espionage efforts, its increasing footprint in U.S. maritime ports and penetration of other critical infrastructure.
Texas's bill follows a high-profile incident earlier this month when two Chinese nationals were arrested for attempting to smuggle a dangerous biological pathogen into the United States.
"Chinese companies purchasing American land, particularly near sensitive strategic and military sites, is not a coincidence. The CCP is blatantly attempting to base espionage efforts, and potentially worse, right in our backyard, and it's up to states act accordingly," said Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats.
"Governor Abbott and the Texas legislature are right to ban foreign adversaries from purchasing land in their state. More and more states should follow their lead."
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Per the Committee of 100, which tracks state and federal bills in the United States that restrict property ownership by foreign entities, 25 states have passed bills that restrict foreign property ownership as of Monday. That is up from 22 states as recently as March, per the committee. Meanwhile, according to the committee's tracking, 15 bills pertaining to this issue are being considered at the federal level as well.
On Monday, Republicans in Congress introduced a bill aimed at increasing oversight of foreign farmland purchases, which would add the U.S. Agriculture Secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). It would also compel the U.S. Department of Agriculture to report to CFIUS any purchase of domestic agricultural land by foreign adversaries who pose risks to national security.
State-level bills aimed at increasing scrutiny of foreign land and asset acquisitions from adversaries appear imminent in New Hampshire and North Carolina, if their governors grant them approval.
