Lawsuit challenges Florida land law

Chinese nationals call US state's restrictions on buying property racist, unconstitutional

Four Chinese nationals living in Florida and a Florida real estate company that primarily serves Chinese-speaking clients have jointly filed a lawsuit calling for the repeal of the newly passed and enacted Senate Bill 264, which the lawsuit refers to as "Florida's new alien land law".

The plaintiffs allege that the law will be discriminatory, stoke racial bias against Chinese Americans and undermine their financial freedom. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law on May 8, and it will go into effect on July 1.

The law will prohibit Florida government entities from contracting with "foreign countries of concern" and prohibit entities and citizens of those countries from acquiring agricultural land or other real property in the state.

The countries of concern are China, Cuba, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela.

In addition, Chinese citizens are singled out for tighter restrictions. Those with nontourist visas will be allowed to acquire only one real property smaller than 0.81 hectare, and the property must be at least 8 kilometers from military installations or 16 kilometers from critical infrastructure.

It will be a felony for Chinese nationals to buy property in restricted areas or for any person or real estate company to knowingly sell such property to them. Regarding the other nations of concern, the purchase or selling of such property will be considered a misdemeanor.

The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, DeHeng Law Offices and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in coordination with the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance.

The lawsuit — Shen vs Simpson, filed in US District Court in Tallahassee, Florida — asks the court to declare the law unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, because, the suit contends, it will violate plaintiffs' rights to equal protection and procedural due process and their rights under the Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit also contends that the new law is preempted by federal law.

The suit alleges that the new law will impose discriminatory prohibitions on the ownership and purchase of real property based on race, ethnicity, alienage and national origin — and imposes especially draconian restrictions on people from China.

Under the law, the plaintiffs "will be forced to cancel purchases of new homes, register their existing properties with the state under threat of severe penalties, and face the loss of significant business. The law stigmatizes them and their communities and casts a cloud of suspicion over anyone of Chinese descent who seeks to buy property in Florida", the suit contends.

One plaintiff, Liu Yongxin, an assistant professor at a Florida university who has a working visa, owns a home near Daytona Beach. Not only will he be required to register his property with the Florida Economic Opportunity Department under the new law, but he also won't be able to buy a second property in Pelican Bay as planned, according to the lawsuit.

Another plaintiff, Xu Zhiming, has already signed a contract to buy a home near Orlando and is expected to close the deal in September. However, the property appears to be located within 10 miles of critical infrastructure. The new law would force Xu to cancel the contract and lose all or part of his $31,250 deposit.

Plaintiff Multi-Choice Realty primarily serves Chinese-speaking clients and stands to lose more than one-third of its business due to the law, according to the lawsuit.

"The swaths of land now off-limits to Chinese persons (under the new Florida law) are extensive," said the lawsuit. The prohibition on property purchases within 16 kilometers of a "critical infrastructure facility" or within 8 km of a "military installation" covers immense portions of Florida, including many densely populated and developed areas, it said.

The law "will have the net effect of creating 'Chinese exclusion zones'", according to the lawsuit.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com