Texas land still vulnerable to ownership by foreign adversaries

The threat of the Chinese buying up Texas agricultural land has been a threat for multiple years now. The state legislature has taken action against allowing foreign adversaries to buy land in the state, but a new report says the state is as vulnerable as ever when it comes to foreign hostile nations buying our land.

A retired Chinese general Sun Guangxin has been the focus, after he bought up tons of land in the state. He alone bought up about seven percent of land in South Texas, with plans for wind farms, but there has been concerns from analysts this would be a front for espionage activities.

Robert Montoya of Texas Scorecard says even with the passage of the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act in 2021, the Chinese have not slowed down.

"This is still a problem, and the Chinese Communist Part is still wanting to buy up land in the United States, and they already own quite a bit," he says.

According to report, Guangxin had plans to sell off most of the land he owns, but that has never really come to fruition.

There was stronger legislation proposed by State Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, but that was killed by House Speaker Dade Phelan in the 2023 session. Since then, things have stood still while the Chinese continue scooping up critical land all along the border.

But we have another problem that stems beyond any legislation.

"The way the state keeps track of land ownership is going to make it difficult to try and expel or screen out adversaries that do own our land," says Montoya. "Texas has to start taking ownership of the situation and acting on our own."

Now, Senator Kolkhorst has presented the same legislation for the upcoming 2025 session, dubbed as Senate Bill 307, which she calls a 'common sense approach to national security.' But depending on who is elected House Speaker next week, that bill is still up in the air.

The Federal Government has been less helpful, sitting on their hands and taking a 'wait and see' approach for the most part.

Some people too might be wondering why this is a big deal at all. I mean, it is just foreigners owning our land, right? Wrong. It presents huge opportunities, especially with new laws the Chinese passed.

"In 2017, China passed a national intelligence law, that mandates cooperation from Chinese citizen's...where they are required to commit espionage when abroad," he says.

Owning that land puts Chinese, who are required to be spies, in striking distance of oil rigs, military bases, and all kinds of critical infrastructure. So, stopping the bleeding is a top priority in this session.

Montoya adds that lawmakers need to step up even more than they have already and find ways to better track land ownership in the state.