Texas bans China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying land, property in state

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill that will block individuals or entities from adversarial nations from purchasing land or property in the state.

SB 17 was signed into law on June 20 and goes into effect on September 1. It targets countries that are identified by the US Director of National Intelligence "as a country that poses a risk to the national security of the United States in at least one of the three most recent Annual Threat Assessments of the US Intelligence Community."

The legislation specifically noted China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, which were listed in the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment. The Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, is empowered under the legislation to investigate possible violations of the law, which would be a felony.

Covered under the bill are agricultural land, groundwater, mines or quarries, commercial, industrial, and residential properties, as well as other properties. Exempt under the law are US citizens and lawful permanent residents, as well as those legally within the US who wish to purchase a primary residence.

The bill received criticism, including from the Asian Americans Advancing Justice, who said it was "outraged" at the bill. They said the bill "creates an overly broad net that places innocent foreign nationals at risk of racial profiling," per Fox News.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a similar bill in her state earlier in June, saying at the time, "Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1109. Improvements to systems that protect our infrastructure are important. However, this legislation is ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets. Additionally, it lacks clear implementation criteria and opens the door to arbitrary enforcement."