Laws restricting foreign nationals, particularly Chinese, from owning property are becoming more prevalent in the United States. This has led to a revival in discrimination that has historically targeted Asian Americans, and matters have become worse since Donald Trump became president again in January, experts monitoring these developments say.

Committee of 100, a group based in New York that is one of the most vocal organizations opposing such laws, has warned about the "dangerous comeback" of "alien land laws", that date back a century.

"These discriminatory policies, along with other unfair housing practices, continue to fuel wealth disparities and economic barriers for the Asian American and other minority communities," it said.

According to the group's database, which monitors proposed legislation at both state and national levels, the number of such bills has surged over the past two years. In 2021 and 2022 a total of only 23 such bills were considered; in 2023, 130 bills were considered, and last year 124 were considered.

By March 17, 27 states were considering 84 bills that would restrict property ownership in some way, the group said, and the US Congress is considering seven similar bills. Since 2021, 42 states have introduced 323 bills restricting property ownership by foreign entities, and Congress has introduced 49 such bills.

The figures show a clear pattern targeting Chinese nationals. Of the 372 bills introduced since 2021, 236, or 63 percent, include provisions prohibiting Chinese citizens from owning some form of property, with 18 explicitly singling out China and Chinese citizens.

Among the 38 bills passed into law, Florida's SB 264, enacted in 2023, specifically targets Chinese citizens and prohibits nonpermanent residents from owning any property in the state.

Worsening situation

During a recent webinar examining the effects of alien land laws on fair housing rights, John Trasvina, assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity under former president Barack Obama, said the situation has worsened since Trump regained power.

The current administration recently cut funding for the National Fair Housing Alliance in Washington and other organizations that both Democratic and Republican administrations had historically supported, he said.

It appears to be doubling down on these restrictions. The federal Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said recently that the Trump administration is exploring federal solutions to block "the Chinese purchase of our farmland".

Trasvina said what the Trump administration is doing is "a win only for discrimination".

"The state and now possibly federal laws are prohibiting or restricting the rights of noncitizens to buy property, taking us back to an era a century ago when Asian immigrants were denied the right to buy homes and farmland."

Explaining the historical prejudice against non-US citizens, Trasvina said: "Some were wrongly suspected to be security threats because of their ancestry or outright racism. Others were discriminated against for economic reasons."

'Poorly written'

The bills and laws of today are "poorly written and sweep up individuals and families way beyond their intended targets", he said. "Worse, they embolden those in our society who think that all Asian Americans are foreigners."

Hope Atuel, executive director of the Asian Real Estate Association of America, which is based in San Diego, California, talked of her own experience with SB 264 in Florida.

Realtors are placed in the difficult position of determining whether potential buyers are covered by the law, often erring on the side of caution by assuming someone is covered because they have an Asian surname or appearance, she said, opening the door to discrimination against Asian Americans.

Scott Chang, a senior counsel of the National Fair Housing Alliance, said "legalizing housing discrimination has a lot of ripple effects".

"We've seen in history that alien land laws then led to other restrictions. There's a huge potential for there to be discrimination both in housing and in other areas of life."

Discrimination has been deeply embedded in the US system throughout its history, Chang said.

"In fact, many of the US laws, including the Chinese Exclusion Act (of 1882), the Japanese internment act (of 1942), and racially restrictive covenants, were explicitly … designed to provide opportunities to white people and to simultaneously deny opportunities to people of color."

The effect of these historical policies remains visible today. The homeownership rate for Asian Americans in 2023 was 63 percent, compared with 73.8 percent for whites.

"Given that homeownership is the cornerstone of building wealth in the United States, it's not surprising that the homeownership gap between whites and communities of colors remains large," Chang said.

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