Several Ohio professional sports teams are wading into a debate over foreign nationals owning land in Ohio. The state’s professional basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer teams say their players and staffers could be unfairly punished.
Proposals in the Ohio House and Senate would bar the citizens or businesses of “foreign adversaries” from owning land near military installations or “critical infrastructure.”
Supporters contend those restrictions are necessary to prevent the Chinese government from spying on military bases or sabotaging important facilities. But critics maintain the measure boils down to discrimination based on national origin, a protected class under federal law. And for affected individuals, it’s a de facto ban on owning land anywhere in the state.
Ohio law defines “critical infrastructure” in statute, and it’s an incredibly broad category — extending to power lines and telephone poles. Prohibiting land ownership within 10 miles effectively blankets the state.
Similarly, the scope of “foreign adversary” is more extensive than it might seem. Although supporters emphasize the threat of Chinese snooping, 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 can extend those prohibitions to designated terrorist organizations as well. The Trump administration’s inclusion of cartels and gangs on that list mean Ohio’s restrictions could be quite broad.
Around this time last year, federal officials deported 238 Venezuelans to an infamous El Salvadoran prison.
They claimed the detainees were members of Tren de Aragua — a gang listed on the designated terrorist organization list. Those allegations were based, in large part, on their tattoos. One of them happened to be a professional soccer player.
Sports teams weigh in
Ohio House Bill 1 and Ohio Senate Bill 88 have been parked in committee for more than a year.
An amendment last November created a carveout allowing permanent residents and members of the military to own land. But opponents argue the measure is still too harsh.
Lawful permanent residents described living, working, and paying taxes in the U.S. for a decade or more on a visa before they could get their green card.
Ohio’s professional basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer teams say their players and staffers with different nationalities could be unfairly punished as well.
In a letter to Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, they urged lawmakers to consider an exception for “law-abiding, taxpaying, non-citizen athletes, family members and staff here legally as visa holders to own property or a business in Ohio.”
The proposed restrictions could put Ohio’s teams at a disadvantage when it comes to landing free agents. And while the bill’s supporters focus on China, the team leaders are likely thinking about implications for the rest of the map.
Chinese athletes aren’t that well-represented in U.S. professional sports leagues. But there are a lot of Russian hockey players. Baseball is huge throughout Latin America. Soccer is big everywhere.
Executives with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, Columbus Blue Jackets, Columbus Crew, and F.C. Cincinnati all signed on to the letter.
“It is a rigorous process with the federal government that our teams and these foreign nationals must go through in order to obtain the visa,” the teams explained.
The letter includes an attachment describing the process for getting a P-1A visa (for athletes) or a P-1S visa (for staffers).
Applicants go through two rounds of applications that include sharing several years of residential history, names of family members and any criminal records.
Those get reviewed by U.S. Customs and Immigration Services and then the U.S. Department of State. After those checks are complete, a visa applicant has to visit a U.S. embassy or consulate in their home country for an in-person interview and medical examination.
“Communities throughout Ohio take significant pride in 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 integrate is through the purchase of a home.”
The team executives insist their foreign players and staffers are “well-vetted, taxpaying, law-abiding visa holders.”
The bill’s supporters, meanwhile, aren’t buying the sports teams’ complaints.
The America First Policy Institute testified that H.B. 1 is both “carefully targeted” and “critically important to counter our foreign adversaries.”
Emily Moreno, the group’s Deputy Director of State Action and daughter of Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, bristled at the teams’ efforts to sway lawmakers.
“Rumor has it the Ohio House Public Safety Committee is moving to amend HB1 to carve out exceptions for foreign athletes — all because a baseball team came lobbying,” she wrote on social media.
“The same team that caved to the woke mob and dropped ‘Indians’ for ‘Guardians’ is now dictating how to write legislation,” Moreno continued. “We don’t make exceptions for foreign millionaires. We write bills for everyday Ohioans.”