Last week, Texas Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R – Arlington) introduced House Bill 4736, which would prohibit citizens of certain countries from enrolling in Texas universities. Similar to other state bills that target the civil liberties of immigrants of specific nationalities, HB 4736 would punish foreigners for the sins of their governments – in many cases, the governments they fled to establish a living best in the United States.
HB 4736 would prohibit public institutions of higher learning from admitting citizens of China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia as students. It would be apply to public four-year universities, technical institutes, junior colleges and medical schools. Undocumented immigrants would also be barred from admission and would not be eligible for residency under the Texas education code. There is no specific language in the bill exempting dual citizenship from the ban, meaning a lifelong citizen and resident of the United States could be affected if they also happened to be a citizen of the United States. a targeted country.
Speak San Antonio Express-News, the legislation “is unlikely to move this session forward.” It may be more to send a message than to achieve a legislative objective. Even so, HB 4736 reflects an upward trend in bills introduced in state legislatures — in Texas and somewhere else– it would nullify the civil liberties of immigrants who are legally in the United States.
In November, declare Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R – Brenham) introduced Senate Bill 147, which would prohibit any “individual citizen of China, Iran, North Korea or Russia” from buying property in Texas. Originally, SB 147 would have banned door-to-door shopping, prompting many concern immigrant communities in Texas and several states legislators. Kolkhorst has since introduced a modified version that would allow door-to-door shopping. Yet even before this change, Governor Greg Abbott said he supported the bill.
Another bill from Texas, SB 711, would prohibit any “prohibited foreign actor” – defined to include citizens of any “country identified as a country that poses a risk to the national security of the United States” – from purchasing property “without written notification to the seller”. In this notification, the buyer should identify its relationship with a country designated as posing a national security risk (“whether the buyer is a foreign national, a foreign company, a foreign government or an agent, fiduciary or fiduciary” of the one of them) and disclose their nationality.
International students have come under similar scrutiny elsewhere in the United States, especially as politicians have moved to punish certain authoritarian countries. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D – California) and Ruben Gallego (D – Arizona) floated the idea of expelling Russian university students from the country after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. In 2020, the Trump administration revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese graduate students and scholars at American universities during their ties at Chinese military-affiliated universities. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced a bill in 2021 that would have barred Chinese nationals from receiving U.S. visas for graduate or postgraduate study in STEM fields.
Legislation to exclude certain foreign nationals from US universities is often based on security concerns. But these concerns are largely exaggerated. Additionally, bills like HB 4736 would punish foreigners who, in many cases, deliberately build their lives away from their repressive countries. Ultimately, their civil liberties should not have to suffer as American politicians target foreign powers.
