FBI Announces Arrest After Man Tries To Bring In Alleged Pathogen

State legislatures across the country are stepping into what many see as a widening void in federal oversight, advancing a cascade of bills designed to block foreign adversaries—particularly China—from buying up American land. The movement, driven largely by Republican-controlled legislatures, reflects a growing bipartisan anxiety over national security, economic resilience, and sovereignty. But at its core, it reveals how concern about Beijing’s influence is increasingly shaping domestic policy—often more decisively in state capitals than in Washington.

At least 20 states have already enacted restrictions on foreign land purchases, with over a dozen more considering similar measures in 2024 alone. Though the laws often mention other nations like Iran, North Korea, and Russia, there’s no mistaking the central target: the Chinese Communist Party. Governors such as South Dakota’s Kristi Noem have publicly named China as a top threat, warning that its foothold in American agriculture and infrastructure could compromise food security and critical assets.

The federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) reviews property sales near specific national security sites, but many lawmakers argue that its reach is too narrow and its scrutiny too lenient. “The CFIUS process today is largely a rubber stamp,” said Texas State Sen. Tan Parker, who authored one of the first major land-restriction bills in 2021. Other states, like Florida, have passed laws modeled specifically to bar real estate purchases by Chinese government-linked entities.

That state-level momentum has been supercharged by real-world cases that have alarmed both voters and legislators. The latest? A pair of Chinese nationals arrested for smuggling Fusarium graminearum—a pathogen labeled as a potential agroterrorism weapon—into the U.S. with the intent to conduct research at a University of Michigan lab. According to the Justice Department, one of the accused, Yunqing Jian, was a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party and had received funding from the Chinese government to work on the pathogen. Her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, allegedly smuggled the materials into the U.S. hidden in tissue paper at the Detroit airport.

The charges have drawn national attention not just for their disturbing implications, but because they reinforce what state leaders have been warning for years: America’s institutions—from farmland to research labs—are vulnerable to infiltration. “These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus… into the heartland of America,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgan. “It is of the gravest national security concerns.”

Against this backdrop, advocacy groups like State Armor are working to codify restrictions in as many as 30 states by 2025. Their message is simple: if the federal government won’t act swiftly, the states must. According to a recent Marist Poll commissioned by State Armor, 73% of Americans support banning land and infrastructure purchases by nations considered adversaries, particularly when it involves elements tied to critical infrastructure like cell towers or power grids.

Still, opposition remains. Some lawmakers and civil rights advocates warn that the laws—especially those targeting Chinese nationals—risk overreach and racial profiling. A federal court recently blocked part of Florida’s land restriction law on constitutional grounds, and critics like Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) have urged caution. “We have to make sure that the cure is not worse than the disease,” he told the House Agriculture Committee.

The U.S. will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 28, 2025

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