File photo from Getty Images.
Several Ohio professional sports teams are weighing in on the debate over foreign land ownership in Ohio. The state’s professional basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer teams say their players and employees may be unfairly punished.
Proposals introduced in the Ohio House and Senate would prohibit citizens and companies of “foreign adversaries” from owning land near military installations or “critical infrastructure.”
Supporters say these restrictions are necessary to prevent the Chinese government from spying on military bases or sabotaging significant facilities. But critics maintain that the measure amounts to discrimination based on national origin, which is a protected class under federal law. And for those affected, it is a de facto ban on owning land anywhere in the state.
Ohio law defines “critical infrastructure” in the statute, and it is an extremely broad category – including power lines and telephone poles. The ban on owning land within a 10-mile radius effectively covers the state.
Similarly, the scope of “alien enemy” is broader than you might think. While supporters emphasize the threat of Chinese espionage, Ohio’s secretary of state could apply the same restrictions to citizens of several other countries, including Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba, among others.
The Secretary may extend these prohibitions to designated terrorist organizations also. The Trump administration’s inclusion of cartels and gangs on this list means Ohio’s restrictions could be quite broad.
Around this time last year, federal officials deported 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador’s infamous prison.
They claimed that the detainees were members of Tren de Aragua, a gang on the list of designated terrorist organizations. These allegations were based largely on their tattoos. It so happened that one of them was a professional footballer.
Sports teams take part
Ohio House Bill 1 AND Ohio Senate Bill 88 they have been on the committee for over a year.
Last November, an amendment was introduced that allowed indefinite residents and soldiers to own land. Opponents, however, claim that this solution is still too harsh.
Legal indefinite residents described living, working and paying taxes in the U.S. for ten or more years on a visa before they could obtain a green card.
Critics and supporters are at odds over a bill limiting foreign ownership of land in Ohio
Professional basketball, baseball, hockey and football teams in Ohio say their players and employees of different nationalities may also be unfairly punished.
In a letter to Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, they urged lawmakers to consider an exception for “law-abiding, tax-paying, non-citizen sports, family members and employees who are here legally as visa holders to own real estate or a business in Ohio.”
The proposed restrictions could put Ohio teams at a disadvantage when it comes to signing free agents. And while the bill’s supporters are focused on China, team leaders are likely wondering about the implications for the rest of the map.
Chinese athletes are not well represented in American professional sports leagues. But there are many Russian hockey players. Baseball is huge throughout Latin America. Football is significant everywhere.
The letter was signed by the directors of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, Columbus Blue Jackets, Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati.
“This is a rigorous process run by the federal government that our teams and foreign nationals must go through to obtain a visa,” the teams explained.
The letter was accompanied by an attachment describing the procedure for obtaining a P-1A visa (for athletes) or P-1S (for employees).
Applicants go through two rounds of applications, which include sharing several years of residential history, names of family members and any criminal records.
They are checked by US Customs and Immigration Services and then by the US Department of State. Once these checks are completed, the visa applicant must go to the U.S. embassy or consulate in his or her home country for an in-person interview and medical examination.
“Communities across Ohio are very proud of our sports teams,” the letter reads. “Our players and staff also take pride in representing Ohioans and being active members of their local communities. One way players and staff can integrate is by purchasing a home.”
The team’s management insists its foreign players and employees are “well-vetted, tax-paying and law-abiding visa holders.”
Meanwhile, the bill’s supporters aren’t buying the sports teams’ complaints.
The America First Policy Institute testified that HB 1 is both “carefully targeted” and “vitally important to countering our foreign adversaries.”
Emily Moreno, the group’s deputy director of state operations and daughter of Ohio Republican U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, bristling on the teams’ efforts to influence lawmakers.
“Rumor has it that the Ohio House of Representatives Committee on Public Safety is going to amend HB1 to create exceptions for foreign athletes – all because a baseball team lobbied,” she wrote on social media.
“The same team that bowed to the woke mob and abandoned ‘Indians’ in favor of ‘Guardians’ now dictates how to write the rules,” Moreno continued. “We don’t make exceptions for foreign millionaires. We bill ordinary Ohioans.”
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