While President Trump continues taking action to protect the American people from Chinese espionage operations, Sen. Valarie Hodges, Vice Chair of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus, spent the 2026 legislative session building state-level defenses against foreign adversaries, radical foreign law and named terrorist organizations.

Last year, Hodges created the Foreign Adversary Task Force, bringing together the FBI, DHS, the Louisiana National Guard, federal military leaders, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana State Police, the Attorney General’s Office, cybersecurity experts, and national security specialists to brief lawmakers on the growing threats posed by hostile foreign actors.

Building upon that exchange of information and extensive briefings of members of the legislature, Hodges coordinated with fellow caucus members to bring a package of legislation designed to shut hostile foreign actors out of Louisiana’s military footprint, our critical infrastructure, government contracts, classrooms, courts, and our criminal justice system.

Rather than treating each threat in isolation, the Legislature recognized foreign influence as a national security challenge that extends from land ownership and critical infrastructure to education and the integrity of the rule of law itself.

For years, Americans have watched Chinese Communist Party operatives purchase land near military installations, establish influence networks through educational and research institutions, pursue access to critical infrastructure and exploit the vulnerabilities of our open society. At the same time, foreign-funded terrorist organizations have increasingly sought to shape American institutions through litigation, arbitration, education, and political activism.

Louisiana’s response was not a single bill; it was the first round of a comprehensive legislative strategy, with Sen. Hodges, working with Senate President Cameron Henry, serving as the principal architect of the strategy.

Hodges SB200 authorizes the Louisiana Military Department to expropriate property owned or controlled by designated foreign adversaries or their agents when that property lies within fifty miles of a military installation, recognizing that strategically located land can itself become a national security threat.

Hodges SB388 extends those protections to state government by prohibiting Louisiana agencies from contracting with designated foreign adversaries or foreign terrorist organizations while authorizing the Division of Administration to review existing contracts for compliance.

Recognizing that foreign influence evolves, Hodges also secured passage of SR145, reestablishing the Foreign Adversary Task Force that helped develop much of this year’s legislative package. The task force will continue evaluating emerging threats.

House Homeland Security Chair Jay Galle’s HB816 strengthens prohibitions on foreign adversaries, their agents and controlled entities from acquiring land within twenty-five miles of any Louisiana military installation. Given the number and distribution of those facilities, the law places many areas beyond the reach of strategic land acquisitions by hostile foreign governments.

Rep. Dodie Horton’s HB635 moves beyond civil regulation into criminal law. It creates enhanced penalties for crimes committed on behalf of foreign adversaries or foreign terrorist organizations, including surveillance, intimidation, or monitoring intended to enforce foreign law, such as Sharia law, inside Louisiana. It specifically prohibits enforcement of any foreign laws that violate constitutional rights guaranteed under American law.

Rep. Beryl Amedee focused on two areas that have been impacted by hostile foreign law in places like Texas, Michigan and Minnesota: education and family law.

HB690 prohibits Louisiana educational agencies from contracting with vendors tied to foreign adversaries or foreign terrorist organizations. If such relationships are discovered after a contract is awarded, payments may be suspended and improperly received funds recovered. The law seeks to prevent organizations connected to hostile governments or designated terrorist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, from gaining influence through educational materials or services.

HB1198 prohibits arbitration in child custody disputes and bars Louisiana courts from recognizing foreign custody determinations that fail to meet American constitutional standards of due process and equality under the law. This will protect Louisiana families from custody decisions based on legal systems incompatible with our state and federal constitution.

Rep. Jacob Landry’s HB429 strengthens Louisiana’s terrorism statutes by making theft from, or unauthorized entry into, critical infrastructure facilities predicate offenses for terrorism prosecutions.

Rep. Charles Owen supplied the legal definition of foreign adversary. Owen’s HB180 establishes who qualifies as a foreign adversary by incorporating existing federal designations for hostile governments, their agents, and entities they substantially own or control.

That definition is central to HB192, the constitutional amendment Louisiana voters will consider this fall. The proposal would prohibit private entities that qualify as foreign adversaries—or agents acting on their behalf—from exercising expropriation authority against Louisiana property owners. If approved, the prohibition will become part of the Louisiana Constitution.

Louisiana lawmakers concluded that hostile foreign governments no longer rely solely on spies operating in the shadows. Modern influence campaigns involve purchasing strategic land, obtaining government contracts, supplying educational materials, funding advocacy organizations, exploiting arbitration systems, conducting surveillance, intimidating communities, or gaining access to critical infrastructure.

The Louisiana Freedom Caucus responded by building legal barriers at many points of entry, but there is more work to do. Whether other states follow our example remains to be seen. But while many continue debating the threat, the Louisiana Freedom Caucus has begun constructing a legal firewall against foreign influence before it becomes foreign control of critical elements of our state institutions.

Connie Hair is the Louisiana State Director for the State Freedom Caucus Network and a veteran of national politics, media, and military service. She has worked on presidential and congressional campaigns, served in the U.S. Army Reserve, reported for Human Events on the Capitol Hill Press Corps, served as communications staff for a U.S. Senator and two U.S. Congressmen and spent twelve years as Chief of Staff to a Member of Congress.