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| -Land of the Free |
| DOJ argues DeSantis-backed law banning Chinese land ownership near Florida military bases 'unconstitutional' |
| 2023-07-01 |
| [FoxNews] The Justice Department argued in a new court filing this week that a Florida law restricting Chinese land ownership by U.S. military installations and major infrastructure is unconstitutional. In a "statement of interest" filed in U. S. District Court in Tallahassee on Tuesday, the DOJ argues that SB 264 – signed into law last month by GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (FHA). FHA broadly prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability and national origin. "These unlawful provisions will cause serious harm to people simply because of their national origin, contravene federal civil rights laws, undermine constitutional rights, and will not advance the State’s purported goal of increasing public safety," the Justice Department wrote. The state law imposes new restrictions on persons and entities from "foreign countries of concern," defined as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria. It bans "foreign principals," defined as someone whose "domicile" in the People's Republic of China and not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, from owning or acquiring agricultural land or real property within ten miles of any "military installation" or "critical infrastructure facility" in Florida. The legislation has an exception for individuals with a valid non-tourist visa or who have been granted asylum to purchase one residential real property if the property is less than two acres in size and not within five miles of a military installation. The law also prohibits the "purchase or acquisition of real property by the People’s Republic of China," including by Chinese political and corporate entities. DeSantis has described the legislation as a way to "counteract the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the state of Florida." "Restricting China and other hostile foreign nations from controlling Florida’s agricultural land and lands near critical infrastructure facilities protects our state, provides long-term stability, and preserves our economic freedom," Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson similarly stated last month, according to the filing. "Food security is national security, and we have a responsibility to ensure Floridians have access to a safe, affordable, and abundant food supply," Simpson added in May. "China and other hostile foreign nations control hundreds of thousands of acres of critical agricultural lands in the U.S., leaving our food supply and our national security interests at risk." The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing four Chinese citizens who live in Florida and a Florida brokerage firm suing the state, claims the legislation will "cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian." On May 22, plaintiffs Yifan Shen, Zhiming Xu, Xinxi Wang, Yongxin Liu, and Multi-Choice Realty, LLC filed a complaint seeking a preliminary injunction. The DOJ filing seeks to support that motion. U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor scheduled a July 18 hearing on the matter. DeSantis is not the only GOP presidential contender critical of the Biden administration's perceived inaction to curb the national security risk of Chinese influence on U.S. institutions. During her foreign policy speech in Washington, D.C., earlier this week, Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration, called out how Chinese investors have bought nearly 400,000 acres of land in the U.S., including miles of farms near sensitive military facilities. "And China has taken majority control of agricultural industries," she said. "This must end. The line between Chinese investors and the Chinese Communist Party is exceptionally thin." "The Communist Party has abused our openness in extraordinary ways," Haley added. "It uses our economic freedom to threaten our security and food supplies – our academic freedom to corrupt our students and scholars – and our freedom of speech to spread lies and shape our laws." |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #22 /\ By 'Joe' I hope you mean that long absent JoeMendiola ...former Rantburgers like Mucky, Joe, .com and other are missed, salud! |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-07-01 18:57 |
| #21 Joe's poetry is a type of poetry that is often considered to be the worst in the universe. It is sometimes used as a torture method, causing physical pain to the hearer. swks is credited to creating the worst Joe poetry, which perished when his world exploded after Herb insisted that Chinese food in China is superior to Panda Garden. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2023-07-01 16:01 |
| #20 ^ Like Messico |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-07-01 15:41 |
| #19 IIRC Communist mainland China does not allow 'ownership' of property -- you lease for up to 99 years. Practically, of course, the oligarchs 'own it until a cabal in the CCP decides to take it back. |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-07-01 15:25 |
| #18 Some states have in place for a while banning foreign ownership of land or farm land. Maybe Bill G. is fronting for the latter. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-07-01 15:09 |
| #17 Colon cancer? Could be worse. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-01 14:36 |
| #16 To be called names by STD-ridden fecal sample like ACA JOE is a badge of honor ;-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-07-01 14:35 |
| #15 Joe, Joe, Joe....please. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-07-01 14:29 |
| #14 Given they're totalitarian commies and unleashed a bioweapon on the world, my sympathy level is a bit low. Frank you are a bastard scumbag racist POS hope you will die of colon cancer. ACA JOE |
| Posted by: ACA JOE 2023-07-01 14:26 |
| #13 DoJ got this one right. '...within ten miles of any "military installation" or "critical infrastructure facility" ' BFD, so the Chinese will own land 11 miles away. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-01 14:22 |
| #12 CCP didn't give the Biden crime family all that money for nothing. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-07-01 12:53 |
| #11 Some real estate taxing jurisdictions assign different tax rates for non-resident property owners. Is there any legal reason such jurisdictions can't tax foreign owned real estate at 500% of value -- every year. |
| Posted by: Gromble Dribble4342 2023-07-01 12:18 |
| #10 Given they're totalitarian commies and unleashed a bioweapon on the world, my sympathy level is a bit low. F' em. Think we could purchase land near a Chinese Military base? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-07-01 11:45 |
| #9 /\ ...3) Chinese cultural memory: this may 'sell' well as a domestic political issue in Florida but I really can't estimate how much of a raw nerve this will hit in China. "Evil gweilo disrespecting the Middle Kingdom" and the Opium Wars can still trigger responses. |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-07-01 11:41 |
| #8 There are two separate issues here: 1) If the US government has jurisdiction over interstate commerce then it certainly has an interest on foreign commerce, viz. foreign investment. How far this law intrudes on US Treaty level powers is up to the courts, I guess. 2) Seigniorage. When you convert currencies from one one country to another, for example USD$ to RMB there are 'problems'. Why convert the growing trade surplus USD$ when you can just buy local things that can be resold later at a premium? The Opium Wars with China was caused by a seignourage imbalance because the Chinese refused (officially) to accept foreign goods and only wanted silver -- the (unofficial) workaround was the illicit opium trade. In this case the ban on Chinese land ownership is kind of ironic don't you think? |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-07-01 11:35 |
| #7 I look forward to the noodles. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-07-01 10:39 |
| #6 We Are All Chinese Now |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-07-01 09:58 |
| #5 You read that right folks, the ACLU is representing Chinese citizens. You have been replaced. Enjoy your Independence Day weekend. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2023-07-01 09:46 |
| #4 /\ Simply following the Biden Crime Family lead. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-07-01 09:03 |
| #3 It’s almost as if the DOJ is acting in the interest of the CCP. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-07-01 09:01 |
| #2 Michigan woman leads effort to recall officials who approved EV battery factory with China ties |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-07-01 08:34 |
| #1 China Passes Law to Enhance ‘Extraterritorial Application’ of Communist Law |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-06-30 09:00 |