Senate Bill 264 was intended to bar citizens of China from buying land near military installations and infrastructure facilities, but the plaintiffs who sued Gov. Ron DeSantis allege in a new filing that other Asians are feeling the effects of the new law.
As previously reported in the Florida Record, Shen v. Simpson was filed May 22 in the Northern District of Florida Tallahassee Division alleging SB 264 is unconstitutional.
“The irreparable harms of SB 264 are already being felt by Plaintiffs and other Asians in Florida, who today face discrimination when seeking to buy homes,” ACLU Attorney Ashley Gorski wrote in her motion in support of a preliminary injunction. “These harms are also roiling the real estate market in Florida, where some lenders are now refusing to do business with any Chinese national. And the equities weigh decisively in Plaintiffs’ favor.”
Also known as Florida’s New Alien Land Law, 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.
A preliminary and permanent injunction against enforcement was argued July 18.
“This law and laws like it contribute to stigma and anti-Asian discrimination that's been a big problem in the United States recently,” said ACLU Attorney Sarah Taitz. “We see the law as both its cause and effect and it further makes it seem like there's something wrong with having a Chinese immigrant as your neighbor.”
The ACLU’s motion was filed on July 11 in response to Florida Solicitor General Henry Whitaker’s brief in opposition to the proposed Preliminary Injunction.
In his brief, Whitaker disputed allegations that the law was approved by the legislature to discriminate against Asians.
“Plaintiffs make no serious attempt to demonstrate that the Florida legislature was motivated by racial animus in enacting SB 264,” Whitaker wrote. “As reflected by the statements Plaintiffs cite, the Florida legislature adopted this law to address threats posed by hostile foreign nations. SB 264 itself reflects this focus: its definition of “foreign principal” primarily targets agents of hostile government actors.”
Plaintiffs include the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the ACLU of Florida, the ACLU Foundation and the Deheng Law Office in Pleasanton, California.
“There are a lot of people who live here and who live in China who have nothing to do with the Chinese government, and have no agenda whatsoever related to the Chinese government or the Communist Party,” Taitz told the Florida Record. “But Governor DeSantis is treating being from China as being the same thing as somehow being part of the Communist Party or being a spy. You can't say they are the same thing.”