Rep. Gene Wu delivers remarks inside the House Chamber at Texas State Capitol in Austin, Thursday, March 13, 2025. Wu opposes Senate Bill 17, which would ban people from certain countries from buying property in Texas.

People protest outside Sen. Lois Kolkhorst’s office against bill that discriminates.

People protest outside Sen. Lois Kolkhorst’s office against bill that discriminates.

Fear and ignorance are the demagogue’s favorite tools, and when deployed effectively, they create laws that violate civil rights, discourage investment and promote racial profiling.

The Texas Legislature’s Senate Bill 17 discriminates against individuals based on their passport, not their political beliefs or character. If signed into law, people holding Chinese, Russian, Iranian or North Korean passports could be forbidden from buying or leasing real estate in Texas.

The list of nations could grow or shrink depending on the annual U.S. Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, put together by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. SB17 also empowers the governor to add nations to the list, giving Gov. Greg Abbott the power to ban entire groups of people on a whim.

Advertisement

Article continues below this........

© Houston Chronicle