June 28 (UPI) — The Justice Department is taking legal action against Florida over a new law federal prosecutors call unconstitutional because it restricts Chinese citizens from owning land in the state.
The DOJ filed a “statement of interest” in the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee on Tuesday over Florida Senate Bill 264, which restricts people of “foreign countries of concern” from buying land within 10 miles of a “military installation” or “critical infrastructure facility” in the state.
The “countries of concern” include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria. The law also restricts some Chinese citizens from buying more than two acres of land.
The Justice Department argues Florida’s law violates the Fair Housing Act, which bans housing discrimination on the basis of national origin, and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law last month. State officials argue the law will “counteract the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party.” It is scheduled to go into effect Saturday.
DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president and has repeatedly warned that China is one of the biggest threats against the United States, claims the new law will protect national security.
“Our food security is also our national security,” DeSantis said at the bill signing last month. “So we don’t want the CCP in charge of any of the food production.”
In its filing, the Justice Department said “Florida has yet to identify any legitimate connection between protecting the state and prohibiting individuals who simply come from ‘foreign countries of concern’ from purchasing or owning real property.”
“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 department added.
The American Civil Liberties Union agreed, saying the new law would cast “an undue burden of suspicion” on anyone trying to buy property if their “name sounds remotely Asian.”