Foreign Adversaries Should Not Own American Land: A Matter of Sovereignty and Security
The United States of America was founded on the principle of self-governance, where the people, through their elected representatives, hold the reins of power and the fruits of the land. The Constitution, a timeless blueprint for Liberty, emphasizes the protection of our nation’s sovereignty and the security of its citizens. Yet, today, a growing concern emerges: foreign countries—particularly those deemed adversaries—are purchasing American soil. This isn’t just a real estate transaction; it’s a threat to our independence, security, and way of life. Common sense, rooted in constitutional principles, demands we put an end to it.
The Stakes: Land as Power
Land isn’t just dirt—it’s the foundation of a nation. Control of land means control of resources, food production, and strategic positioning. The framers of the Constitution understood this when they vested Congress with the power “to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States” (Article IV, Section 3). This wasn’t a suggestion; it was a mandate to safeguard American territory for American interests.
Now, imagine a foreign adversary—say, a nation like China, with its well-documented hostility toward U.S. interests—owning farmland near a military base or critical infrastructure. This isn’t hypothetical; it’s happening. Reports show foreign entities, including those tied to adversarial governments, have acquired millions of acres of U.S. land in recent years. Texas alone saw Chinese-linked purchases near Air Force bases, raising red flags among those who value national security over globalist platitudes. If an enemy controls the ground beneath our feet, they don’t need missiles to strike—they’ve already got a foothold.
The Constitutional Lens
The Constitution doesn’t explicitly say “no foreigners can own land,” but it doesn’t need to. Its spirit is clear: the government exists to protect the rights and security of Americans, not to hand over our birthright to those who’d do us harm. The Fifth Amendment guards against property being taken without due process, but what about property being sold to those who’d use it against us? Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to “provide for the common Defence,” and letting adversaries buy up strategic land is the opposite of that duty.
Historically, the Founding Fathers were wary of foreign influence. Alexander Hamilton warned in The Federalist Papers about the dangers of foreign entities gaining too much sway over American affairs. Land ownership by hostile nations is a modern twist on that old threat—a Trojan horse in the form of a deed. If the government can regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8) to protect economic stability, surely it can restrict foreign adversaries from buying up the heartland to protect national survival.
Common Sense Says No
Let’s cut through the nonsense: why should a country that undermines our values, spies on our people, or threatens our allies be allowed to plant its flag—literal or economic—on American soil? Liberty isn’t about being naive; it’s about being vigilant. When a nation like Russia or Iran, or their proxies, buys land here, they’re not investing in the American dream—they’re exploiting it. They could manipulate food supplies, disrupt energy grids, or simply gather intelligence from a front-row seat. That’s not freedom; that’s foolishness.
Take agriculture as an example. The U.S. is a breadbasket for the world, and our farmland is a national treasure. Foreign ownership—especially by adversaries—jeopardizes that. If they control the fields, they control the table. During a conflict, what stops them from withholding resources or sabotaging production? Common sense tells us you don’t hand your enemy the keys to your pantry.
The Big Government Trap
Some might argue, “This is a free market—anyone can buy land!” True, Liberty cherishes property rights, and the government shouldn’t meddle in every sale. But this isn’t about your neighbor selling to a Canadian retiree; it’s about adversarial governments or their fronts snapping up strategic assets. Big government isn’t the answer—overreach is how we got bloated bureaucracies in the first place. Instead, we need targeted, constitutional action: laws that bar hostile foreign entities from owning land, enforced with transparency and accountability, not endless red tape.
Congress has the tools. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) already reviews certain transactions for national security risks. Expand that to cover land purchases by adversarial nations or their proxies. States, too, can act—several, like Florida and Texas, have started restricting foreign ownership of farmland. That’s federalism at work, not top-down tyranny.
The Solution: Sovereignty First
Here’s the fix: ban land ownership by foreign governments and their affiliates, especially adversaries, outright. Define “adversary” clearly—nations with a track record of hostility, espionage, or human rights abuses against U.S. interests. Private citizens from those countries? Fine, let them prove they’re not fronts for their regimes. Enforce it with teeth: fines, forfeiture, and deportation for violations. Keep it simple, keep it constitutional, and keep it American.
Liberty doesn’t mean letting the fox guard the henhouse. The framers fought for this land so we could thrive as a free people, not so hostile powers could buy it out from under us. Foreign adversaries owning American soil isn’t just a policy failure—it’s a betrayal of the principles that built this nation. It’s time to take back our land, secure our future, and tell the world: this is America, and it’s not for sale.