Diana Xue has always kept an eye on the political landscape shaped by her husband, friends, and neighbors in Orlando, Florida, consistently casting her vote for the Republican party. This year, however, she is prepared to shift her long-standing allegiance.
Last year, the Republican-led Legislature and Governor of Florida enacted a law prohibiting Chinese nationals without permanent U.S. residency from purchasing property or land. This move catalyzed an “awakening” in Xue, who became an American citizen a decade ago after moving from China to attend college. She began to feel that the Sunshine State had legalized discrimination against people of Chinese descent.
While Florida has traditionally been a Republican stronghold, Xue expressed her determination to flip every available seat due to this law. Across the United States, at least two dozen states have enacted or proposed similar “alien land laws,” targeting property ownership for Chinese nationals and companies as a response to the perception of China as a foreign adversary. Although other countries are mentioned in discussions, China frequently remains at the forefront.
Legislators, mainly from the Republican party, have pushed for these land ownership restrictions in light of escalating concerns surrounding China’s intelligence and economic threats. Governor Ron DeSantis, at the time of signing the Florida law, labeled China as the “greatest geopolitical threat” to the U.S. and stated that the legislation was a direct response against the Chinese Communist Party.
Many individuals of Chinese descent who have become American citizens now feel increasingly marginalized and are turning towards the Democratic party, fearing they may be misjudged because of their ethnicity.
Tensions between the U.S. and China surged in February 2023 when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was identified over Montana. In the aftermath, Republican-leaning states such as Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee proposed similar rules regarding land ownership.
These laws include restrictions for individuals or businesses from China and other so-called foreign adversaries, such as barring property purchases within designated distances from military bases or critical infrastructure. Some regulations provide limited exceptions for non-tourist visa holders and those granted asylum.
According to the National Agricultural Law Center, 24 states have enacted or limited land ownership for foreigners without residency, as well as foreign businesses or governments. The interest in regulating farmland ownership increased after a Chinese billionaire acquired over 130,000 acres near a U.S. Air Force installation in Texas, and the Chinese company Fufeng Group sought to build a corn processing facility on 300 acres near another Air Force base in North Dakota.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, voiced concerns that such legislative measures not only contravene the principles of a market economy and international trade standards but also exacerbate hostility towards the Asian and Chinese communities in the U.S., intensifying racial discrimination.
These laws discourage potential Chinese investors and create apprehension among other foreign investors who could play a pivotal role in revitalizing the U.S. industrial base, according to John Ling, a professional specializing in attracting international manufacturing projects to the U.S.
Real estate agents and brokers are also struggling to adapt to these changes. Angela Hsu, a commercial real estate attorney based in Atlanta, mentioned the confusion surrounding a law signed by Georgia’s governor in April that restricts land sales to specific Chinese nationals.
On a federal level, the House recently approved a bill that would mandate the reporting of farmland sales that involve citizens from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. However, its chances of passing in the Senate remain slim.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington, argued that this bill was essential to tackling what he described as an alarming trend of Chinese acquisition of American agricultural land. In contrast, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters from California, alongside various Asian American groups, opposed the legislation, claiming that it adopted a broad discriminatory approach targeting specific nationalities, which amounted to racial profiling.
Currently, China holds less than 1% of all foreign-owned farmland in the U.S., significantly less than countries such as Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Following the enactment of Florida’s law in May 2023, four Chinese nationals filed a lawsuit challenging it. An attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union advocated for a federal appeals court to block the law.
This situation has rallied the Chinese community in Florida into action, leading to the formation of the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance, which includes Xue as an active participant. Through her engagement, she has discovered that Democrats, like state Rep. Anna Eskamani, have been supportive and acknowledged the law’s xenophobic nature.
Hua Wang, board chair of another civic advocacy group known as United Chinese Americans, noted that there is a growing awareness among individuals that such laws directly affect their lives.
Historically, laws enacted in the name of national security have echoed patterns from World War II, where Japanese Americans were also viewed as threats, according to Chris Suh, a professor of Asian American history at Emory University. He asserted that it is challenging to contest these laws’ constitutionality since they appear to be based on citizenship, even though they target specific countries.
Anti-Chinese sentiment has influenced legislative measures throughout the last 150 years, including the Page Act of 1875, which restricted the entry of Chinese women, and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which was the first significant immigration law to discriminate based on race.
Policies that target foreign nationals tend not to benefit the economic interests of Americans as a whole, Suh emphasized, referencing historical exclusions of Chinese laborers from the railroads and Japanese immigrants from home ownership, which did not profit U.S. railroad barons or landowners.
“This historical context can be related to the current situation,” Suh noted. “Some of the strongest advocates against the alien land laws in Florida are individuals who stand to lose profits if potential buyers are prevented from acquiring their land.”
The law fosters fears among Chinese immigrants who have achieved citizenship, provoking worries of being racially profiled or accused of espionage in their own country, Xue articulated.
“You might assume these matters don’t pertain to you, but the way you look or your last name prompts others to judge you,” Xue reflected. “No one will inquire whether you are a U.S. citizen or not.”