Chinese residents suing Florida over its prohibition on home ownership

On the grounds that it is discriminatory, a group of Chinese Floridians wants to prevent a new property law that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed from taking effect on July 1.

The four plaintiffs contend in a complaint filed on Monday that the state’s ban on Chinese and residents of six other nations from purchasing houses and property is both unconstitutional and in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The complaint claims that the SB 264 statute “imposes especially draconian restrictions on people from China,” since anyone from this nation who are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents would be completely prohibited from purchasing property in Florida.
Situation: DeSantis, who may run for president in 2024, said when governor signed the legislation earlier this month that he was doing so to defend against the danger posed by China’s Communist Party.

Additionally, the proposal would prohibit the purchase of farmland or any other property in the state that is within ten miles of a military post, a port, or an airport by nationals of “foreign countries of concern,” which include Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria. The statute was “based on false claims” concerning national security, according to the ACLU, one of the organizations defending the three Chinese individuals and the real estate company Multi-Choice Realty LLC in the complaint.

“There is no evidence that Chinese citizens are harming the real estate market, but there is a long history of similar policies escalating violence and discrimination against immigrants,” they said.
In a statement, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is also representing the plaintiffs, said that the limitations would “cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian.”

Axios’ request for response from DeSantis’ team was not immediately answered. Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, is preparing to run for president while promoting a far-right cultural agenda that places limitations on LGBTQ people, abortion rights, and Disney, one of his state’s largest employers, as a “blueprint” for the country.

Why it’s important DeSantis’ long-anticipated entry into the Republican contest has been planned to attempt to wrangle enough support from the MAGA camp of former President Trump to get the GOP nomination. The Chinese government instructed owners of “critical information infrastructure” to cease purchasing Micron Technology goods on Sunday, claiming the American chipmaker posed a security concern.

Bringing you the news The charges made by the Chinese Cyberspace Administration followed a security audit of the Idaho-based company, which the U.S. Commerce Department concluded had “no basis in fact.” Monday saw the signing of legislation that defunds diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at Florida’s public institutions and gives the state the authority to eliminate courses that promote “identity politics.”

Why it’s important The passage of SB 266 and HB 931 by DeSantis is the most recent step in a long-running campaign to control how race and gender are treated in educational institutions across the state.

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