DOJ lines up against new Florida land limits

As a new Florida law went into effect Saturday, Chinese individuals domiciled in China with non-tourist visas are now allowed to acquire only one single real property that must be smaller than 2 acres, at least 5 miles from military installations, or 10 miles from critical infrastructure.

The new law (SB 264), dubbed "Florida's New Alien Land Law", was challenged in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others on behalf of four Chinese citizens and a brokerage firm in May, the month the law was passed.

Last week, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a "statement of interest" in the federal Northern District Court of Florida to support the plaintiffs' motion for injunction against the law, calling it "unconstitutional".

The DOJ said in the court filing that the law violates the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

"These unlawful provisions will cause serious harm to people simply because of their national origin, contravene federal civil rights laws, undermine constitutional rights, and will not advance the state's purported goal of increasing public safety," the DOJ said.

Florida's New Alien Land Law also prohibits entities and citizens from "countries of concern" — currently China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela — from acquiring agricultural lands or real property within 10 miles of any "military installation" or "critical infrastructure facility" in Florida.

The new law imposes both civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply with the restrictions and registration requirements including a fine of $1,000 for each day that registration is delayed. It also requires forfeiture of any real property owned or acquired in violation of the statute.

The Chinese-specific prohibitions impose more severe punishment. A person who "knowingly sells real property" to Chinese persons or entities is punishable by up to one year of imprisonment and a $1,000 fine, while Chinese purchasers of land in violation of the law are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The DOJ argued that not only is the law discriminatory based on nation of origin, but it also reduces "the availability of housing by making large parts of Florida — which happen to be near military installations and critical infrastructure facilities — essentially off-limits to individuals based on their nationality".

The DOJ also stated that Florida has yet to identify any legitimate connection between protecting the state and prohibiting individuals from "foreign countries of concern" from purchasing or owning real property.

In addition, the law didn't show how prohibiting individuals from those countries from purchasing or owning real estate in Florida would achieve its stated goal of protecting the state and public safety, the DOJ argued.

The DOJ said "the plaintiffs are likely to succeed" not only because the law is discriminatory based on origins of nations but also because "it is not narrowly tailored to serve any compelling government interest".

Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's National Security Project, was quoted by Politico that the Biden administration's involvement is significant.

"DOJ has weighed in because Florida's law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates the Fair Housing Act," Gorski said. "Their brief underscores just how egregious SB 264 is, and we look forward to making that case in court on July 18."

The Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA), which coordinated the lawsuit against SB 264, welcomed the DOJ's move in its news release.

"The official opinion of DOJ is a strong support for this case. Its action reflects its position to safeguard (the) American Constitution and values as well as its support for the rule of law and justice," CALDA said.

Agencies contributed to this story.