A federal appeals court will hear arguments in April in a challenge to a 2023 Florida law that restricts people from China from owning property in the state.
According to a document posted last week on the court website, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hold a hearing during the week of April 15 in Miami.
The document did not give a specific date for the arguments. People from China in the United States on visas or seeking asylum and a real-estate broker challenged the law, arguing it is unconstitutional and violates the federal Fair Housing Act.
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The plaintiffs went to the Atlanta-based appeals court after U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the law in August. The overall law affects people from what Florida calls “foreign countries of concern” — China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria.
However, the lawsuit focuses on part of the measure that specifically puts property-ownership restrictions on people from China who are not U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents.
In approving the law, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature cited a need to curb the influence of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party in Florida.
But opponents argue, in part, that it improperly discriminates against people based on their national origin.
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