by Arjun Singh
Twelve Republican-led states have joined an amicus brief in support of Florida, which is being sued in federal court over a law that bans Chinese citizens from owning land in the state.
Florida’s Senate Bill 264, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 8 and went into effect on July 1, bans all Chinese citizens who are domiciled in China from buying, inheriting or receiving land in the state, while nationals of other “countries of concern” face land ownership restrictions. After the American Civil Liberties Union sued Florida on behalf of Chinese plaintiffs, Republican-led states have rallied to Florida’s defense.
“Real property law has always been the domain of states. And it is unexceptional that the people of a state get to decide how the land within their state is going to be used. Florida’s limitations on unfriendly foreign governments and their actors are not unconstitutional or otherwise unlawful,” read the amici, led by Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador of Idaho. The states joining the brief were Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah — all of which have Republican governors and attorneys-general.
Apart from the ban on domiciled Chinese citizens owning land, nationals of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela — termed “countries of concern” — are prohibited from owning agricultural land or any land within 10 miles of a U.S. military installation. U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who are also citizens of the listed countries are not restricted by the law, and Chinese citizens on non-tourist visas or asylum status may purchase up to two acres of land not within five miles of a military base.
DeSantis, who is currently running for president, has defended the law, saying that it is “not in the best interests of Florida to have the Chinese Communist Party owning farmland, owning land close to military bases,” according to the Hill. Florida’s attorneys wrote that it has “broad constitutional authority to regulate the acquisition of its own land and has not acted here based on national origin or race,” per a memorandum of opposition to the plaintiffs.
Other from Florida, only Alabama has passed a law explicitly banning Chinese land ownership on similar grounds.
The case has attracted considerable attention from left-wing interests across the country, with the Biden administration filing a statement of interest in the case. Other amici who have joined the case include several law schools and Asian-American legal groups, who describe themselves as a “coalition of racial justice centers,” among others, per their brief.
So far, the law has been allowed to take effect, though the first hearing in the case will be held on July 18 at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, with the plaintiffs asking for a preliminary injunction to stay the law. Judge Allen C. Windsor, an appointee of President Donald Trump, is presiding.
Florida’s solicitor general did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Arjun Singh is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
