Committee of 100’s ongoing effort to identify and monitor legislation that restricts property ownership by foreign governments, businesses, and people shows a continuing effort by state governments and Congress to limit the ability of such entities to own property in the U.S.
As of August 20:
- 6 states are currently considering 22 bills that would restrict foreign property ownership in some way (based on states’ legislative calendars);
- U.S. Congress is currently considering 18 bills;
- 30 states have passed 54 bills that restrict foreign property ownership. While 4 bills were passed into law prior to 2021, most legislative activity has taken place since 2021. In particular, 17 bills passed into law in 2024, and 12 bills passed into law in 2025 so far;
- In July 2025, the Administration took executive action to launch the National Farm Security Action Plan, which includes a key initiative to collaborate with state and federal partners on legislative and executive measures aimed at ending the direct or indirect purchase or control of U.S. farmland by citizens or entities from countries of concern or designated foreign adversaries.
Since 2021:
- 43 states have introduced 355 bills restricting property ownership by foreign entities;
- U.S. Congress has introduced 59 such bills;
- From 2021 to 2023, only 23 bills were considered between states and Congress. In 2023, the rate increased dramatically; 130 bills were considered in 2023, 124 bills were considered in 2024, and 133 have been considered in 2025 so far;
- Of the 414 bills that have been introduced by states and Congress since 2021, 266 (64%) include provisions that prohibit or otherwise restrict Chinese citizens from owning some form of property, 24 of which explicitly and singly target China and restrict Chinese citizens from owning some form of property;
- Of the 54 bills that have been passed into law, 1 bill singles out Chinese citizens and prohibits non-permanent residents from owning any form of property in the state: Florida’s SB 264 (2023).
- Across each year since 2021, and between states and Congress (note that no federal bills have passed into law):
- 2021: 12 bills introduced, 1 passed into law
- 2022: 11 bills introduced, 1 passed into law
- 2023: 130 bills introduced, 19 passed into law
- 2024: 124 bills introduced, 17 passed into law
- 2025: 133 bills introduced, 12 passed into law
Committee of 100 believes that passage of such bills prohibiting property ownership by citizens of foreign countries legitimizes harmful and xenophobic claims about immigrants that exacerbate anti-Asian violence that has negatively affected U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike. This legislation also disproportionately affects a wide range of people of color living in the United States; most of the countries targeted in this legislation are majority non-white.
Regarding legislative efforts to prevent Chinese citizens and businesses from owning property in the United States, it’s worth noting that Chinese businesses and citizens own 0.6% of all privately held foreign-owned agricultural property, according to the Department of Agriculture’s 2023 AFIDA annual report data. According to the 2023 AFIDA annual report, foreign-owned privately held agricultural land accounts for 3.5% of all privately held agricultural land in the United States. Put differently, Chinese ownership represents .021% of privately held agricultural land in the United States, or about 1 out of every 4,800 acres.
Interactive Map
Legislation
Altogether, these bills include provisions that encompass a wide range of restrictions on an extensive variety of properties by a large array of foreign entities and their respective countries. The interactive mapping tool below illustrates legislative activity by state governments and Congress pertaining to restriction of property ownership by foreign citizens, businesses, and governments, especially those related to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The first tab of the mapping tool below allows users to navigate across this legislative landscape by specifying the combination of provisions they are interested in through the dropdown menus above the map. The map then highlights the intersection of the selected provisions. Clicking a state (or “U.S.,” which refers to federal legislation considered by the U.S. Congress) provides a detailed summary of all legislation currently being considered or passed into law, as well as any state-constitutional provisions related to foreign property ownership. Note that failed bills are included in the statistics described above (among bills that have been introduced) but are excluded from the map simply to reduce congestion in the state summary box. Additionally, to highlight constitutional provisions, all other menu menu selections must be omitted.
Litigation
Additionally, the second tab highlights litigation against states’ foreign property ownership laws: summarizing complaints, any decisions made, and the current status of these lawsuits. Although as of June 23 there are only 4 such cases (in Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee), we anticipate more cases to be brought against states as they continue to pass this legislation.
Data explorer
The data explorer below the map allows users to view the legislative landscape in a second way; by selecting a bill status and provision category, users may view the distribution of provisions contained in bills for a given bill status-provision category combination. For instance, the default selections show the distribution of foreign country groups among bills currently being considered by state legislatures and Congress; of the 40 total bills currently being considered, 16 contain provisions that restrict property ownership by Foreign Adversaries. The glossary below the apps detail the terms used.
The following template illustrates the general formula of restrictions specified in each bill: Some entity (e.g. governments, nonresident aliens) belonging to some country(ies) (e.g. all foreign countries, foreign adversaries, PRC) are restricted from having some interest (e.g. restricted from owning, leasing, or are regulated in some other way) in some property (e.g. all real property, agricultural property, state land).
