By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for Florida to enforce a law restricting real estate and land purchases by Chinese citizens, rejecting claims it violates federal law and discriminates against Asians.
The 2-1 ruling by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could encourage other states to adopt so-called alien land laws, which were once common but fell out of favor a century ago. Lawmakers in more than 30 states have passed or introduced bills restricting foreign property ownership.
The 11th Circuit said four Chinese citizens represented by the American Civil Liberties Union lacked legal standing to sue over Florida’s 2023 law because it only applies to people “domiciled” in China, and they have lived in Florida for years.
The court also rejected claims that provisions of the law requiring Chinese citizens to register their properties with the state conflict with a federal law governing foreign investments and were improperly motivated by racism against Chinese people and Asians.
“National, individual, land, and food security concerns motivated (the law’s) enactment,” Circuit Judge Robert Luck wrote for the court.
The office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ACLU attorney Ashley Gorski said in a statement: “Although today’s decision is disappointing, we’ll continue to fight laws like these that blatantly target immigrants based on their national origin and ethnicity.”
A different 11th Circuit panel last year had blocked Florida’s law from being enforced pending the outcome of the appeal.
The law prohibits individuals who are “domiciled” in China and are not U.S. citizens or green card holders from purchasing real estate or land in Florida. It allows non-tourist visa holders and asylum recipients to purchase a single residential property as big as two acres that is at least five miles (8 km) from any military installation.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said when he signed the law in 2023 that it would help protect Americans from the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Luck was joined on Tuesday by Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa, a fellow appointee of Republican President Donald Trump. Both judges previously served on the Florida Supreme Court and had been appointed to that court by DeSantis.
Circuit Judge Charles Wilson dissented, saying the regulation of foreign investment is “a quintessentially federal arena” and Florida’s law was preempted by federal law. Wilson is an appointee of Democratic former President Bill Clinton.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Paul Simao)
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