Texas isn't playing around when it comes to foreign land investment and is passing sweeping legislation that will stop the purchase of Texas land from foreign governments cold. 

Senate Bill 17, sponsored in the House by Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant), tackles property purchases from foreign adversaries such as China, Iran, and Russia, effectively prohibiting our enemies from gaining any control over the state, or any ability to make money within its borders. This bill also applies to individuals with connections to these governments as well.

The bill passed in the Senate with a 24 to 7 vote, with the House passing it 86 to 59. The bill is currently undergoing reconciliation, but once a conference committee approves of House amendments, it will go back to the Senate and House for final approval, and upon passage by both chambers, will arrive on Governor Greg Abbott's desk to be signed. It's expected to take effect September 1, 2025. 

The vote was largely split down party lines, with only one Democrat in the House voting with Republicans. In the Senate, four Democrats supported the bill, and the fight over it was contentious. A six-hour debate took place over SB-17, with Democrats making the case that the bill discriminates against immigrant communities. 

"Watching in slow motion as we eagerly repeat the sins of our past," said Texas State Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) in a post on X. "Senate Bill 17 will strip away property ownership rights of #AAPI immigrants, based solely on national origin. 

I have been dreading this day for 3 years.⁰
Watching in slow motion as we eagerly repeat the sins of our past.

Senate Bill 17 will strip away property ownership rights of #AAPI immigrants, based solely on national origin. ⁰
Hate has no home in Texas, but we do. #txlege pic.twitter.com/pkHhE53zgX

— Gene Wu (@GeneforTexas) May 8, 2025

"If SB 17 were law when I came to these shores, I fear that I would not have been able to buy the home that I raised my kids in," said State Rep. Hubert Vo (D-Houston). "I would not have been able to buy the building where I started my first business, I would not have been able to live my American dream."

RedState asked Hefner about Vo's claim, and according to the representative, the bill will not prohibit land being bought by lawful immigrants. 

"As Senate Bill 17 has moved through the legislative process, we have taken the utmost care not to reduce the ability to buy property for those who have fled oppressive regimes and want to build an American life here," Hefner told RedState. "As the bill currently stands, those individuals who come here lawfully and remain here lawfully still have that opportunity."

Hefner noted that legislation on this scale usually comes with a lot of weaponized misinformation used against both its proponents and the broader community, but isn't going to let the truth get away.

"United States citizens and lawful permanent residents are entirely unaffected by this bill," he added. "Individuals who have previously been crushed under the boot of Communist dictatorial regimes but choose to sever ties with their oppressors and come to this country lawfully will be welcomed here."

Hefner has no doubt that any revisiting of this bill in the future will be handled with conversations driven by facts and data, as they were with its formation. That said, it's pretty clear that Texas Republicans aren't going to tolerate foreign enemies gaining any power over Texas, and thus America. 

This is welcome news for many Texans. One prominent case of a foreign adversary purchasing land in Texas was the case of Chinese billionaire Sun Guangxin, a former People's Liberation Army officer, purchasing 140,000 acres of land near Laughlin Air Force Base through his company Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group. The plan was to build a massive wind farm on the property, but this was stopped by the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, which forbids our foreign adversaries from connecting to Texas's critical infrastructure. 

Frighteningly, China owned over 123,000 acres of agricultural land in Texas by the end of 2023, making up nearly half of China's total agricultural land ownership in America. With the passage of SB-17, these large-scale acquisitions will all be stopped. 

"Texas has always been a land of opportunity, and we will continue to fight to ensure it remains so," Hefner told RedState. "Hostile foreign governments and their agents must not be allowed to purchase real property in Texas and use it to control our land, our food supply, and our supply chains."

"Senate Bill 17 strikes a thoughtful balance and prevents entities and individuals with a direct line to governments that are hostile to the United States from purchasing property in this state," he added. "This bill will send a powerful message to hostile regimes that Texas is Not for Sale."

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