Florida Gov. DeSantis Restricts Chinese Citizens From Buying Land

Updated May 17, 2023

• Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill, SB 264, that bans Chinese nationals from buying land in Florida.
• His intention is to counteract  the “malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Florida."
• The bill will prohibit Chinese nationals from buying land unless they are American citizens or permanent residents. 
• It also places restrictions on Chinese, Russian, and Venezuelan nationals from buying land near military bases in the state:
• Gov. DeSantis said:

“Today, it’s clear that we don’t want CCP in the Sunshine State. We want to maintain this as a free state of Florida.” 

• The Florida Asian American Justice Alliance said:

“[T]he legislative overreach…is both unconstitutional and deeply discriminatory to the AAPI community, equating all Chinese citizens without a Green Card to agents of the Chinese Community Party.” 

Updated Feb. 13, 2023

• Eleven states including Arkansas, Florida, and South Dakota are considering banning Chinese citizens from buying property. 
• Gene Wu, a member of the Texas House of Representatives said,

“Our country goes through these waves of finding immigrant groups... to demonize.”

What's the story?

• Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is pushing for a bill that would forbid anyone from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from owning property in Texas.
• According to the National Association of Realtors, Texas was the third-most-popular state for international real estate investors between April 2021 and March 2022. State leaders are hoping to reel in those purchases.

What does the bill say?

• Texas Senate Bill 147, first filed by Sen. Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-TX) last November, states that no governmental entity, corporation, or company headquartered in those four countries can purchase or acquire real estate in the state, nor can individual citizens.
• Sen. Kolkhorst said in a statement that she filed the bill to protect Texas land from foreign government ownership and to keep land in the hands of Texans.
• The bill was inspired by the purchase of 130,000 acres of land near Laughlin Air Force Base by a Chinese real estate developer and former army officer.
• The act would take effect on September 1st, 2023. It will not impact property owned or purchased prior to the law taking effect.

Accusations of hypocrisy

• Some observers believe that the government should target megacorporations buying up investment homes across the county rather than scapegoating individuals from specific countries.
• Many observers called the omission of some countries from the list hypocritical, such as Saudi Arabia, which owns America's largest oil refinery and has a problematic human rights record. 
• Opponents also point to 2012, when the Texas Department of Transportation signed a 50-year deal with a Spanish company to add private, for-profit toll lanes along Interstate 35 north of downtown Fort Worth.
• Critics highlight the ease at which public companies can bypass restrictions on foreign ownership if the bill passes by setting up shell corporations. At the end of the day, the legislation will impact individuals far more than powerful corporations. 

Do you support the bill? Should other states do the same?

—Emma Kansiz

(Photo credit: Flickr/World Travel & Tourism Council)