King told Newsweek that “this is about protecting our obligation to keep our power stations, water treatment plants, and gas lines safe from surveillance and espionage.” It seeks to do so byprohibiting noncitizens from designated “foreign adversaries,” including China, Russia, and Iran, among others, from owning land within 25 miles of “critical infrastructure.”
Designating “foreign adversaries” would seem to be a federal power, not permitted to individual states.
The bill exempts American citizens or those with dual citizenship from the ban. The Senate counterpart bill notes that impacted individuals would have to sell and divest their property within two years.
Under the bills, county sheriffs would be responsible for enforcing the new restrictions. If the legislation passes, individuals subject to the prohibition would be required to sell restricted property within two years.
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Xiang Zhang, a professor of genomics at the University of Cincinnati, said at a hearing on Tuesday, as reported by the South China Morning Post: “I never thought that one day, I would have to stand here in front of you to defend myself solely because of my nationality. I never thought that one day, I would lose my house in Ohio solely because of my nationality.”
https://www.newsweek.com/proposal-may-ban-some-green-card-holders-owning-land-2076488
