A wave of racist alien land laws is sweeping across U.S. state legislatures. An alien land law refers to legislation that restricts the right of a person who is not a U.S. citizen to purchase land or property in the country. Historically, such legislation is rooted in 19th century laws, especially in Western U.S. states, targeting Chinese and Japanese immigrants and Filipino nationals. Today, these laws are mostly targeting Chinese people in the U.S.This trend—along with increasing hate crimes, attacks on birthright citizenship, restrictions on Chinese students applying to study in the U.S., and harassment of Chinese scientists accused of spying—contributes to an atmosphere of unrest, concern, and growing fear in Chinese communities. While alien land laws mostly died out starting with the U.S. alliance with China during World War II and then the adoption of civil rights laws in the 1960s, there has been a resurgence of them in recent years. Bills are appearing in legislatures at a ...