Current:Home > StocksAttorneys argue that Florida law discriminates against Chinese nationals trying to buy homes-LoTradeCoin
Attorneys argue that Florida law discriminates against Chinese nationals trying to buy homes
View Date:2024-12-23 20:24:17
An attorney asked a federal appeals court on Friday to block a controversial Florida law signed last year that restricts Chinese citizens from buying real estate in much of the state, calling it discriminatory and a violation of the federal government’s supremacy in deciding foreign affairs.
Attorney Ashley Gorski, representing four Chinese nationals who live in the state, told a three-judge panel from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that “Florida is unlawfully restricting housing for Chinese people.” The law bars Chinese nationals and citizens from other countries that Florida sees as a threat from buying property near military installations and other “critical infrastructure.”
She compared it to long-overturned laws from the early 20th century that barred Chinese from buying property.
“It is singling out people from particular countries in a way that is anathema to the equal protection guarantees that now exist,” Gorski told the court.
But Nathan Forrester, the attorney representing the state, told judges Charles Wilson, Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa that the law lines up with the Biden administration’s national security concerns, including threats posed by the Chinese government.
“It is not about race,” Forrester said. “The concern is about the Chinese government, and that is what this law is designed to do. The concern is the manipulation of the Chinese government.”
This case comes nearly a year after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law, which prohibits citizens of China and some other countries from purchasing property in large swaths of Florida. It applies to properties within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of military installations and other critical infrastructure. The law also applies to agricultural land.
At the time, DeSantis called China the country’s “greatest geopolitical threat” and said the law was taking a stand against the Chinese Communist Party, a frequent target in his failed attempt to land the Republican presidential nomination. The law also affects citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia and North Korea. However, Chinese citizens and anybody selling property to them face the harshest penalties.
Luck and Lagoa both served on the Florida Supreme Court in 2019 after being appointed by DeSantis. Later that year, Luck and Lagoa were appointed to the federal court by then-President Donald Trump. Wilson was appointed to the court in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton.
Throughout the arguments, Luck expressed skepticism of whether Gorski’s clients had standing to bring the lawsuit, asking how they specifically had been harmed.
Gorski replied that the law prevents Chinese citizens from getting home mortgages in Florida and that it declares “some kind of economic war” against China. She said it could have significant foreign policy implications.
“Congress vested only the president with the authority to prohibit a transaction because it is a major decision with significant foreign policy implications,” she said.
But Luck pushed back, saying the state used U.S. policy as its guidepost in drafting the law. “Florida took it from what the federal was doing and piggybacked,” he said.
Forrester noted that the Biden administration didn’t file a brief in support of Gorski’s clients.
Wilson pointed out that Florida has nearly two dozen military bases and that “critical infrastructure” is a broad term. He asked Forrester whether those restrictions would leave any place in Florida that someone from the barred countries could buy property. Forrester said maps were still being prepared.
In the original complaint filed to the Tallahassee district court last May, the attorneys representing Yifan Shen, Zhiming Xu, Xinxi Wang and Yongxin Liu argued the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses by casting “a cloud of suspicion over anyone of Chinese descent who seeks to buy property in Florida.”
But U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, a Trump appointee, refused to block the law, saying the Chinese nationals had not proved the Legislature was motivated by an “unlawful animus” based on race.
___
Associated Press writer Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.
veryGood! (573)
Related
- Bull doge! Dogecoin soars as Trump announces a government efficiency group nicknamed DOGE
- Baton Rouge officers charged for allegedly covering up excessive force during a strip search
- Deal Alert: Shop Stuart Weitzman Shoes From Just $85 at Saks Off Fifth
- 400-pound stingray caught in Long Island Sound in relatively rare sighting
- Republican Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min in critical California House race
- Titanic Submersible Movie in the Works 3 Months After OceanGate Titan Tragedy
- New York man who served 18 years for murder acquitted at 2nd trial
- The police chief who led a raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended
- Colorado police shot, kill mountain lion after animal roamed on school's campus
- MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. top MLB jersey sales list
Ranking
- Mark Zuckerberg Records NSFW Song Get Low for Priscilla Chan on Anniversary
- Collection of 100 classic cars up for auction at Iowa speedway: See what's for sale
- Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku burned on face, arm in home accident while lighting fire pit
- Duke's emergence under Mike Elko brings 'huge stage' with Notre Dame, ESPN GameDay in town
- FanDuel Sports Network regional channels will be available as add-on subscription on Prime Video
- Horoscopes Today, September 29, 2023
- MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. top MLB jersey sales list
- Israeli soldiers kill a Palestinian man in West Bank, saying he threw explosives
Recommendation
-
'Heretic' spoilers! Hugh Grant spills on his horror villain's fears and fate
-
Federal judge rejects requests by 3 Trump co-defendants in Georgia case, Cathy Latham, David Shafer, Shawn Still, to move their trials
-
Allow Amal and George Clooney's Jaw-Dropping Looks to Inspire Your Next Date Night
-
6 migrants rescued from back of a refrigerated truck in France
-
4 arrested in California car insurance scam: 'Clearly a human in a bear suit'
-
Dad who won appeal in college admissions bribery case gets 6 months home confinement for tax offense
-
Ryder Cup getting chippy as Team USA tip their caps to Patrick Cantlay, taunting European fans
-
Shapiro Advisors Endorse Emissions Curbs to Fight Climate Change but Don’t Embrace RGGI Membership