The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 264, which restricts land ownership by Chinese citizens near Florida-based military installations and infrastructure facilities.
Senate Bill 264 was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis but counsel for the DOJ alleges it violates the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
"It discriminates on the basis of alienage and national origin and is not narrowly tailored such that it survives strict scrutiny," wrote DOJ attorney Alisha Jarwala in the June 27 statement of interest. "A law classifies persons based on “alienage” if it either draws distinctions between U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens or draws distinctions among different classes of non-U.S. citizens."
Floridians who support the law disagree.
“That's a false narrative,” said Christie Hutcherson, geopolitical security expert and founder of Women Fighting for America (WFFA). “Not only does the Constitution not apply to Chinese citizens, it doesn't apply to any outside foreign entities as well. They're saying the new law violates the Fair Housing Act, which is discrimination on the basis of several categories, including national origin, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Under the Constitution, they don't have any grounds.”
WFFA is a Florida-based America-first LLC.
As previously reported in the Florida Record, some 398,041 Chinese students choose to study at American colleges.
“Not all, but some of them are plants by the Chinese government,” Hutcherson alleges. “Our DOJ and our agencies aren't doing their due diligence and aren't doing their job. We're not vetting properly any of these individuals. So, we need to have systems in place to make sure that these aren't foreign spies buying up our property to have access to these sensitive, grids and military installations.”
SB 264 exempts Chinese people with non-tourist visas or who have been granted asylum and allows them to purchase one residential property under two acres that is not within five miles of a military installation. It also applies in a less restrictive manner to other foreign countries of concern including the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the Syrian Arab Republic.
"Why are we allowing these countries that clearly have posturing of ill intent to the United States to come and buy on our soil, whether it's China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, or Syria," Hutcherson told the Florida Record. "I agree a hundred percent with this, and we actually need to probably expand this so those individuals can be properly vetted to make sure they aren't working for these governments."
The law also imposes both civil and criminal penalties for violations of the land ownership provisions. Failure to comply with the restrictions and registration requirements may result in civil penalties, including a fine of $1,000 for each day that registration is delayed and forfeiture of any real property owned or acquired in violation of the statute.
"When I look at the influx of illegals coming over the border that are coming into the state of Florida, this is a domestic and national security threat to the state of Florida," Hutcherson added. "Personally, as far as the immigration part is concerned with the open border system, I believe that DeSantis isn't doing enough. I believe he is not protecting Florida at all."