TEXAS, USA — State Representative Gene Wu says legislation that would ban governments, businesses and citizens from China and three other countries from buying land in Texas would have had a profound, negative effect on his own family.
“Basically my family, we waited almost a decade for citizenship, we couldn’t buy our first home that we bought,” the Houston Democrat said on Inside Texas Politics.
And that’s why Rep. Wu calls SB 147 racist and told us he won’t support it, even after the bill’s author promised changes.
After several protests, Senator Louis Kolkhorst, R-Brennan, announced she would add language to make sure legal permanent residents - green card holders - wouldn’t be blocked from land buys.
Rep. Wu says SB 147 is racist and continues an outdated mindset.
And he wonders how Texas could be “open for business” and even consider such legislation, which he says jeopardizes the attraction of new headquarters and/or manufacturing to Texas.
“There is no other place in the world called the land of opportunity. There is no other thing in the world called the American Dream,” he said. “There’s a reason why the United States is the most powerful country and the best country in the world. And that is because we welcome people from the entire world.”
Watch the full episode of this week's Inside Texas Politics: