A federal appeals court upheld a Florida law on Tuesday that restricts Chinese nationals and entities affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from making land purchases in the state.
In a 2-1 ruling, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the group of Chinese nationals challenging parts of the law (SB 264) lacked standing to bring their suit. The decision comes after the district court denied plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the statute’s enforcement.
“After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm the denial of the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion as to the registration and affidavit requirements. But we reverse and remand for the district court to deny the preliminary injunction motion without prejudice as to the purchase restriction because none of the plaintiffs have shown they have standing to challenge that provision of SB 264,” the ruling reads. The majority opinion noted how several of the plaintiffs, although they are Chinese citizens, were not “domiciled” in China, and therefore their efforts to purchase property falls outside the scope of the law.
The majority was comprised of Trump appointed-Judges Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa. Judge Charles Wilson, a Clinton appointee, dissented from the panel’s decision.
As described by Florida’s Voice News, SB 264 “prohibits most Chinese citizens from purchasing Florida real estate and requires reporting of existing holdings near critical infrastructure.” The bill, the outlet reported, “was passed with broad bipartisan support following concerns that individuals and businesses linked to the Chinese Communist Party could acquire agricultural land or property near sensitive installations.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacted positively to the appellate court’s ruling in a Wednesday X post, calling it a “Great victory for our law keeping the CCP out of Florida!” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier similarly responded favorably to the news, saying it represents a “huge win” for the state.
As previously indicated, CCP-affiliated individuals and entities purchasing vast swaths of American land has become a major national security concern in recent years — particularly those made near sensitive U.S. military sites. A June 2024 analysis by the New York Post, for instance, “identified 19 bases across the US from Florida to Hawaii which are in close proximity to land bought up by Chinese entities and could be exploited by spies working for the communist nation.”
Writing in these pages, Federalist Senior Contributor Chuck DeVore previously outlined how these oftentimes “strategic” purchases pose major security risks in the areas of espionage, intellectual property theft, and even biological warfare.
“The FBI’s ongoing counterintelligence investigations and warnings from experts underscore the urgency of addressing the national security risks posed by Chinese-owned real estate,” DeVore wrote. “Failure to act swiftly and decisively leaves America vulnerable to a range of threats, from electronic espionage to biological warfare.”
“Between January 2023 and July 2024, at least 22 states enacted legislation regulating foreign ownership of real property,” according to an August 2024 Congressional Research Service report.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
