Judge declines to block Florida law banning Chinese land ownership

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor on Thursday turned back an effort to block a Florida law that prevents some Chinese citizens from owning land in the state.

The judge shot down a challenge to the law that prevents those "domiciled" in China with no U.S. citizenship from owning land near military bases, critical infrastructure and agricultural lands, saying that the real-estate firm and four Chinese immigrants who sought the injunction were not likely to win the case.

"Plaintiffs have not shown a substantial likelihood that unlawful animus motivated the Legislature," Winsor wrote in his 51-page decision.

Winsor noted specifically that their challenge, citing similarities between the law and California's 1913 Alien Land Law that was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court failed to prove the Florida measure intended to discriminate based on race.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the law is discriminatory against Asian immigrants and deploys "false claims of national security" to support the law. The ACLU signed on as part of a coalition fighting the law.

While much of the attention over the law centers on China, it also restricts citizens from Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria, calling them countries of "concern."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 presidential candidate, and his supporters said the law was needed to protect Florida's farmland and food supply from the Chinese Communist Party. The Justice Department, though, said it violated the U.S. Constitution and asked for a preliminary injunction as its challenges worked its way through the courts.

The Florida law comes with the relationship between the United States and China stalled at a historic low with the country bumping heads, including imports tariffs, Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.