Kansas Repeal Effort Set In Motion
Thanks To UC Law Research

A long-standing racially discriminatory statute left on the books in Kansas may be on the way to repeal, thanks to research from UC's College of Law which uncovered the existence of the statute.

House Bill No. 2867 was introduced in the Kansas legislature on Feb. 13 by Rep. Tom Burroughs after he read a report from the College of Law's Alien Land Law Project.

If passed, the bill would repeal a provision of a 1925 Kansas law that denies Asian Americans the right to inherit property in Kansas. The law "serves no useful purpose; it is unenforced, would be unconstitutional if enforced, and is contrary to the public policy and laws of (the) state which in many other contexts prohibit racial discrimination," wrote members of the Alien Land Law Project in a report sent to Kansas governmental officials. The Alien Land Law Project is sponsored by the Immigration and Nationality Law Review Association, based at the UC College of Law and the publisher of a leading immigration law journal.

"I found it quite ironic in today's day and age that we still have statutes in our statute books that are discriminatory and have overtones other than what is just and fair, especially when dealing with quality of life issues like citizenship and achieving the American dream," said Burroughs, a Democrat who represents House District 33 in Kansas City, Kansas.

Burroughs anticipates that the bill would enjoy considerable support, but first it must negotiate the busy legislative schedule of the Judiciary Committee, which is where the bill was referred after introduction. Burroughs has requested a hearing with the committee's chairman for the bill.

The law targeted for repeal also contains a statutory error, erroneously referencing a child endangerment law. The new bill would also correct that problem.

Kansas is the fourth state identified by the Alien Land Law project as having an antiquated discriminatory law against Asian Americans still on its books. Wyoming's legislature repealed its law last year, and New Mexico voters will have a chance this year to do the same (the law must be voted upon statewide in that state since it involves the state constitution). Florida has yet to take any action on an antiquated provision still in that state's constitution.

The laws date back to the Jim Crow era in the United States.

"The Kansas law was different than the other three states in that it regulates primarily inheritance," said Jack Chin, UC professor of law and the general editor for the law student staff that publishes Immigration and Nationality Law Review. "An earlier version of the law was much more comprehensive." The current law was notable also in that it was the only one of the four discovered by the project that had a judicial interpretation. In a 1953 decision, the Kansas Supreme Court interpreted the statute to apply to aliens who by virtue of race or color were incapable of becoming citizens. Later that year, Congress voted to change the federal naturalization law to make it race neutral.

"This statute has been carried forward on the books for years," Burroughs said. "It's tremendous work for legislators, many of whom are not lawyers, to try and stay on top of everything that is included. So it is refreshing to know that there are people out there who have an interest and are working to make sure our laws are in order."

Immigration and Nationality Law Review is this year expanding its efforts, seeking to identify all state laws that discriminate against non-U.S. citizens. That search may take on particular relevancy given the legal interest in alien rights issues in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Because the regulation of aliens is primarily a federal responsibility, many of the things we look at are going to be unconstitutional," Chin said. "Some will be unenforced, but we want to take a look at national policy as a whole to see how we treat non-citizens.

"Our primary concern is permanent residents who have green cards. Their children born in the U.S. will be citizens, and most of these immigrants will become naturalized citizens or will live their whole lives in the U.S. That makes their ability to assimilate and their ability to contribute to the welfare of all of us as citizens tremendously important."