Constitution 3 gave Congress the power “To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization...” 4 as expanded by the Citizenship Clause of the 14 th Amendment, 5 which provides: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” By the time of Oklahoma statehood in 1907, the requisites for U.S. and state citizenship, or the absence thereof, were firmly established. There is also a long history of private land ownership in the United States. Historically, the common law permitted aliens 6 to own land until “alienage” is established. You can find cases as far back as 1879 which discuss alien ownership of lands and the public policy behind the common law rules. In Phillips v. Moore, 7 the United States Supreme Court noted that the object of colonization was to induce settlement of the country by those persons who would cultivate the lands and become permanent residents. The Court also noted in Hauenstein v. Lynham 8 that it is the prerogative of every government to “give to foreigners only such rights touching immoveable property within its territory as it may see fit to concede. In our country, this authority is primarily in the states where the property is situated.” Shortly thereafter, federal statutes were enacted to further confirm the common law rules. In 1887, federal statutes codified that it was unlawful for any alien to acquire title or own any land in the U.S. 9 An exemption to this rule was written for bona fide residents of the United States 10 , or those who declare an intent to become a U.S. citizen, to be allowed to reside in a state due to treaties with the United States, or own property acquired either by inheritance or to secure a debt. In Larkin v. Washington Loan & Trust Co. , 11 it was clarified that a conveyance into a foreign corporation is permissible. However, the federal statutes note that there is a ten (10) year cessation period, after which the alien must then either alienate the property (abandon it) or lawfully convey it away. Oklahomans, with their own colorful past of acquiring property, ensured that their land should also be protected from outsiders. The Oklahoma Constitution, in Article 22 § 1, states that “no alien or person who is not a citizen of the United States, shall acquire title to or own land in this state.” Similar to the federal statutes, an exemption was made for lands which were already owned by aliens in the State, as well as non-citizens who may become bona fide
residents of the state. The Oklahoma Constitution also provided an exemption for “Indians born within the United States.” To carry out the constitutional provisions, the Oklahoma legislature was to enact laws whereby all non-citizens of the U.S., or their heirs, who acquire real estate by devise, descent, or otherwise shall dispose of the land. Oklahoma also followed the federal example and enacted a cessation period; however, in Oklahoma aliens have only a five (5) year period, after which they either need to forfeit the land, or it may be subject to escheat 12 to the state. Accordingly, in 1910 the Oklahoma legislature adopted the process and procedures surrounding alien land ownership within Title 60, a summary of the specific provisions are as follows: § 121:
• No alien or person who is not a citizen of the U.S. shall acquire title to or own land in this state… • EXCEPT that “he” 13 shall have and enjoy…such rights as to personal property as are, or shall be accorded a U.S. citizen, under the law of the nation to which such alien belongs, or by the treaties of such nation with the U.S. • More to come on this section later! § 122: A resident alien can acquire and hold title to land so long as they remain a bona fide resident of the state but shall dispose of the lands within five years of their non- resident status. § 123: Non-resident aliens acquiring land by devise, descent, or purchase, under legal foreclosure proceedings foreclosing liens in
3.) Enacted March 4, 1789. 4.) Article 1, Section 8, clause 4. 5.) Adopted July 9, 1868. 6.) Non-U.S. citizens. 7.) 100 U.S. 238 (1879). 8.) 100 U.S. 483 (1879). 9.) 48 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1508.
10.) In re Initiative Petition No. 379, State Question 726, 2006 OK 89: bona fide residency is equated with a person’s honest intent to make a place one’s residence or domicile; a conscious decision to make a location an individual’s home. 11.) 31 F.2d 635 (D.C. Cir. 1929). 12.) The process for the reversion of property to the state (or in feudal law, to a lord, on the owner’s dying without legal heirs). 13.) We will spare you our thoughts and feelings on the gendered terms in these laws and cases, for the purposes of this article.
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N at i onal A ssociation of D i v i s i on O rder A nalys t s
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