Texas GOP Bill Would Ban Students From China and 3 Other Countries From All Public Universities
By: Tori Otten (The New Republic)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Texas Republicans are fanning the flames of xenophobia and racism.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images Texas State Capitol
Texas Republican lawmakers are under fire for a bill that would ban students from China and three other countries from all public colleges and universities in the state, with many calling the measure racist and xenophobic.
The bill, introduced last week, would prohibit higher education institutions from admitting international students from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, or any students who are undocumented. It also changes existing law to restrict the definition of a Texas resident. People who received a high school diploma or equivalent in Texas and lived in the state for three years prior to receiving that degree or for the year prior to enrolling in higher education no longer count.
The measure has "little chance of advancing" in the current legislative session, according to the San Antonio Express News, but it has still raised fears as it comes just two months after other Texas Republicans introduced a bill banning citizens from the same countries from purchasing land in the state.
That bill garnered months of backlash. Governor Greg Abbott endorsed the measure, even as local Asian American groups slammed it as racist.
Lawmakers amended the bill earlier this month to clarify that dual citizens and green card holders would still be allowed to buy property. But their attempt to cool the controversy was rightfully called out.
"It's still a fundamentally racist bill as it unfairly targets H1B visa holders, students, and refugees from exercising their full property rights," the Texas-based Asian American group Rise AAPI said.
Both of these bills are painfully reminiscent of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was enacted in 1882 and restricted Chinese immigration to and rights in the United States until 1943. That measure was a direct result of "yellow peril," or racist fearmongering about Asian people. The heightened political tensions around race helped set the stage for much broader political scapegoating, when people of color were specifically blamed for issues in American society.
More recently, citizens of Iran and North Korea were targeted for years under former President Donald Trump's travel ban. (Levels of immigration from North Korea to the United States are, of course, quite low.)
The Texas bills are also coming at a time of increased racial scapegoating. The nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate released a report in October that found Asian Americans are blamed for issues with the economy, public health, and national security.
Trump helped foment a lot of resentment towards China and Asian Americans through his rhetoric around Covid-19, calling it "Kung Flu" and the "China virus." He and other Republicans blame China for deliberately spreading the coronavirus around the world. Their words helped spur a massive increase in anti-Asian hate in the past few years.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle accuse TikTok of spying on American users for the Chinese government, and the Biden administration has threatened to ban the app nationwide if it is not sold to a non-Chinese entity. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who owns TikTok: bad actors get ahold of private data all the time. China's just a handy scapegoat.
And in February, Texas Representative Lance Gooden said he felt his Californian colleague Judy Chu needed "to be called out" and that her security clearance should be revoked.
"I question her either loyalty or competence," he said.
Democrats rushed to Chu's defense, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling Gooden's comments "dangers, unconscionable, and xenophobic." But Chu herself summed it up best.
"I very much doubt that [Gooden] would be spreading these lies were I not of Chinese American descent," she said on MSNBC.
Questioning my loyalty to the United States promotes the ugly stereotype that Asian Americans are forever foreigners in their own land.
It is racist, it is disgusting, and it is dangerous. pic.twitter.com/U4jUduB1fs
— Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) February 25, 2023
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Pandering to racists and xenophobes in Texas? Say it aint so.
This draft legislation is wrong but if you're banning white students from Russia and Iran, how is it racist? Maybe you meant discriminatory on the basis of national origin.
Racism is not limited to skin tone and it is ridiculous you are asking such a question...
Equality under the law shall not be abridged based upon sex, race, country of origin, cultural heritage, sexual preferences or gender identity. Racism is a catch all word that describes prejudices and exclusive treatment of individuals based on mere differences like those I listed, not merely skin tone. Race is a false concept to begin with. We are all Homo Sapiens. Meaning we are all of one race, of the human race.
There is now new evidence Neanderthals survived and are living among us. MAGAs...
Words have definitions so you don’t have to make up meanings.
Funny that you say racism is not limited to skin color but then proceed to define equity.
Oh but they do, otherwise the narrative falls apart.
Nothing in your definition of skin tone.
Discrimination based on country of origin or cultural heritage is considered racism.
Merriam-Webster seems to not share that definition. hmmmmm
race, the idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups on the basis of inherited physical and behavioral differences.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of national origin as well as race, color, religion and sex.
Why include the words “national origin” and f it’s already a part of the definition of race?
Expected and typical MAGA dishonesty!
Lets see the real complete definitions...
Web results
Thanks for the cut n’paste JBB. Do you have a point?
Redefining the meaning of words is a thing on the left these days ...
I had a question as was indicated by the punctuation mark chosen.
They got woke.
It is the main thing on the left today and required if they want to include everyone that does not agree with them under the racist umbrella.
I’m told by a friend on the left that reality is not nice and fair. We need to add “not real” to that list.
Anything and everything someone leftists do not agree with and is designed to shut down a conversation.
That word today has no meaning with teeth. Just another word that the left has overused.
They’ve stretched it all out of shape.
"China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia"
It's not a question or race or national origin, but the repressive and authoritarian governments of these countries.
In view of their past actions, none of these counties can be considered to be our friends, or acting in our best interests. Large potential exists for spying. sabotage, or terrorism
Those actions make it tough on the vast majority of their students who simply want to attend our superior institutions of higher learning.
Trust has to be earned. Whose side are you on, anyway?
Anybody to the left of Che’?
The psychopath freedom fighter ..... a description that fits many of our friends on the left these days.
Tao be fair, I wouldn't call them "fighters".
Most of them are simply pussies that sucker punch then run.
Yeah Bugsy, everyone is afraid of you.
Where did I say anyone was afraid of me?
Answer:I didn't
BTW...whoever that is in your family tree that you are trying to push on me....
I'm not interested
Some folks when reading comments here, seem to let their imagination run free.
Any chance we can get you to stop trolling this article?, it is not about left wing "pussies".
This bill is stillborn but the triggered will never let a good triggering go to waste.
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