Activists warn against dangers of alien land laws

US civil rights leader Gary Nakamura joined a rally against discriminatory land bills in Texas on Sunday, making an impassioned speech on the consequences of laws that restrict foreign nationals, particularly Chinese, from owning property.

"My late grandparents could not own land in the state of California, even though they came to this country back in 1902, because of the original set of alien land laws," Nakamura, national vice-president of the Japanese American Citizens League, told the rally, organized by the Chinese American community in Houston's Chinatown.

"That affects all of us in so many ways. It affects our ability to create generational wealth. It affects our ability to really just have a decent life and pursue the American dream."