ACLU Supporter, a law in Florida that profoundly harms immigrants took effect on July 1, and last week, a judge denied our clients' request to block this unconstitutional and discriminatory housing law. We're appealing – and we wanted you to know the facts.

SB 264 bans many Chinese citizens who live in Florida – along with citizens from Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria – from buying property, including homes, in much of the state. For Chinese immigrants subject to this ban, the sole exception is incredibly narrow: Most may purchase just one residential property under two acres that is not within five miles of any "military installation."

For many immigrants hoping to buy homes in Florida, major residential and economically important areas within cities like Orlando, Miami, and Tampa are now completely off-limits. The law's vague and overbroad restrictions have left people concerned about inadvertently running afoul of the law and facing serious criminal charges when they set out to buy a home. Also worrying is another provision that requires many immigrants from China and other targeted countries to register property they already own or else face severe daily fines.

We represent a professor, dietician, graduate student, small business owner, and Orlando-based real estate firm who are watching this law shatter their dreams of building a life in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis has tried to justify this bill by saying it is "necessary to combat the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Florida." But people from China are not the Chinese government, and DeSantis is wrongly and dangerously equating the two.

At a time when one in two Asian Americans report feeling unsafe in the U.S. due to their ethnicity – and nearly 80 percent feel they don't fully belong or are accepted – Florida's leaders have a responsibility to the people who live there to do better.

Until they do, we'll keep challenging their unconstitutional laws in court.

Thanks for fighting alongside us,

Patrick Toomey
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Deputy Director, ACLU National Security Project