A recent decision by a federal judge has allowed the enforcement of a fresh Florida law, which bars Chinese nationals from buying property in numerous regions of the state. This decision permits the law to remain in effect during its legal contestation. A federal District Court judge declined the plea for a restraining order presented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU had submitted the request for the injunction on behalf of both a real estate company and Chinese residents who reside in Florida.
Judge Allen Winsor, who presided over the case, issued a comprehensive 51-page ruling stating that those who sought an injunction were unable to adequately establish their likelihood of winning the case. This prerequisite is necessary to halt a law without a full trial. The ACLU contended that the law exhibited racial bias and discrimination on its surface, as it was rooted in the nationality of potential buyers.
Judge Winsor rebuffed this argument by highlighting that the law was drafted in a manner that would uniformly restrict both a Chinese individual residing in China and a non-Chinese individual residing in China from purchasing property in Florida. The judge affirmed that the law did not hinge on a person’s racial identity.
The scope of the law is not limited solely to Chinese residents; it also extends its restrictions to prevent the sale of designated real estate to individuals from Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Russia, and Iran. All these countries are classified as nations of foreign interest. The law forbids the sale of land to citizens of these aforementioned nations within a 10-mile radius of crucial infrastructure, military installations, and agricultural land.
The law garnered significant and unanimous backing from both sides of the political spectrum. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has labeled the Chinese Communist Party as the “most substantial geopolitical challenge” to the United States, applauded Judge Winsor’s verdict. This legislation has also gained attention from other states. Notably, Florida is not alone in implementing such measures; this year, several states such as Louisiana and Texas contemplated comparable laws to restrict property purchases by nationals from countries deemed as foreign concerns.
