A Florida Department of Economic Opportunity spokesperson said that the agency does not comment on pending litigation while a spokesperson for Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson did not provide a comment when requested. Both Simpson and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, among others, are defendants in the case.
States across the country, including California and Texas, have introduced more than a dozen similar pieces of legislation in recent months. Florida’s would be the first to be enacted into law.
The lawsuit filed in U. S. District Court in Tallahassee is among several challenging recent actions by the GOP-controlled Legislature and DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president.
“We have a lot — a big increase in the number of people who are Chinese nationals coming,” DeSantis said Wednesday during an event in Arizona. “Clearly the CCP is a major threat to this country and we need to make sure we are recognizing that.”
Under the law, anyone buying agricultural land or property within 10 miles of a military base, installation or designated “critical” infrastructure must sign an affidavit saying they are not prohibited under state law from doing so.
It labels seven nations as a “foreign country of concern”: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela.
According to the law, anyone “domiciled” in those nations who are not “lawful” U.S. residents may not purchase agricultural land after July 1. They are not allowed to buy other lands within 10 miles of military installations or critical infrastructure.
The new law specifically prohibits those from China from owning additional property or buying more than a single parcel of two acres that must be at least five miles from a military installation.
The bill faced opposition in the Legislature from Chinese Americans and visitors from China who said it would subject them to discrimination. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education…
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