More than three dozen states have enacted or are considering similar laws restricting land purchases by Chinese citizens and companies, arguing that such transactions are a growing threat to national security and that the federal government has failed to stop Chinese Communist Party influence in America.
Florida’s law, which went into effect in July, is among the furthest reaching. In addition to barring Chinese entities from buying agricultural land, it effectively prohibits most Chinese individuals without a green card from purchasing residential property. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the measure just before launching his Republican presidential campaign, warning voters that China represented the biggest threat to the United States.
“Today, Florida makes it very clear: We don’t want the C.C.P. in the Sunshine State,” Mr. DeSantis said last year.
In more than a dozen interviews, Chinese residents in Florida voiced frustrations about being cut off from the ultimate American dream. Other residents of Chinese descent said they faced discrimination as they tried to buy a home. Some said they lived in fear over whether they may have inadvertently violated the law.
Civil rights and Asian American groups are unaware of anyone being charged with violating the law. But some people of Chinese descent said they feel the anti-China sentiment intensifying. The law is currently being challenged in federal court.
