The Department of Justice is joining a lawsuit challenging a Florida law that restricts foreign interests from certain countries buying real estate and getting contracts for government work.
According to a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Wednesday, the DOJ said it was joining plaintiff Yifan Shen's lawsuit against the state for enacting a law on May 8 that prohibits noncitizens or permanent residents from certain countries from buying and owning real estate there and stops government entities from entering into contracts with foreign entities.
The DOJ argues that the provisions of SB 264, signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 8, violates the Fair Housing Act and Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by "prohibiting foreign principals from purchasing agricultural land, or having more than a de minimus indirect interest in such land."
According to the filing, the provisions of the law "will cause 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 filing identifies the countries of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria as the prohibited nations.
The law established both civil and criminal penalties, including a $1,000 per day fine and potential misdemeanor charge, for interests that violate the law or do not register with the state.
Plaintiffs Shen, Zhiming Xu, Xinxi Wang, Yongxin Liu, and real estate brokerage firm Multi-Choice Realty LLC filed a complaint against the state May 23 alleging the law violates Federal Housing Administration discrimination regulations as well as the Constitution.
According to the DOJ filing, the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of the case regarding the Fair Housing Act that prohibits housing discrimination based on "race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, and national origin."
"The FHA also prohibits discriminating 'against any person in making available [residential real estate-related transactions], or in the terms or conditions of such a transaction' because of national origin, including 'the selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real property,'" the filing said.
According to the filing, a similar individual from Japan or another country not listed in the law would still be able to get a contract or buy real estate in the state.
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