When someone thinks of America, the idea many want to first pop in everyones’ heads is freedom or a new start. However, a new law around the country is pushing this idea further away: SB 264.
What Is It?
Many are calling the recent law a direct relation to the alien land laws, and the name may sound vaguely familiar. This is due to the fact that the alien land laws were first enacted in California in the early 1900’s. Their purpose was to prohibit anyone who was an alien from owning land in California; furthermore, the definition of alien included all Asians.
This year, SB 264 was enacted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and states that it is not allowed for “foreign principals” or any “Chinese political party officials or members, Chinese business organizations, and persons domiciled in China” to currently own or acquire any “interest in real property within 10 miles of any military installation or critical infrastructure in the state.”
Under Florida’s law, a foreign principal is defined as “governments, government officials, and political parties and its members of a ‘foreign country of concern’” or FCOC. The following countries are considered FCOCs: Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro regime. While all of these countries have been classified as FCOCs, only China and its citizens have been repeatedly named. DeSantis has written on his website that
“Florida has once again taken the lead in protecting American interests from foreign threats and has provided a blueprint for other states to do the same.”
Reactions
As many may anticipate, various civil rights groups are expressing their outrage, but on the other hand, several states are considering enacting a similar law. Furthermore, Congress is also “considering inserting an amendment … that would ban visa holders from targeted countries from making certain agricultural purchases.”
Drafts have been created in California and New York proposing a similar law; Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama have advanced similar bills with slight changes. For example, Louisiana has prohibited Chinese citizens from even leasing property within 50 miles of a military center. Now, “lawfully admitted Chinese citizens present on student or employment visas … at Louisiana State University would not be able to even rent an apartment in Baton Rouge”, since it is home to the Louisiana National Guard.
With several groups expressing their displeasure at such a law and others following Florida’s example, the future does not seem particularly clear. However, let us hope that the values America stands for prevail.