A group of Chinese citizens who live and work south of the state in Florida on Monday because of a new law that prohibits Chinese nationals from purchasing real estate in much of the state.

The law applies to residences within 10 miles (

16 kilometers)

of military installations and other critical infrastructure and also affects citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia and North Korea. But Chinese citizens and those selling real estate to them face the harshest penalties. The ban also applies to agricultural land.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the law will have a significant chilling effect on sales to Chinese and Asian people who can legally purchase real estate. The indictment alleges that the law unfairly equates Chinese citizens with their government’s actions and that there is no evidence of a risk to national security if Chinese citizens purchase real estate in Florida.

The law will codify and expand housing discrimination against people of Asian descent, in violation of the Constitution and the Fair Housing Act, the ACLU said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. It will also throw an unnecessary burden of suspicion on anyone looking to purchase real estate whose name sounds anything like Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan or Syrian.

US-China ties are strained amid growing tensions over security and trade. In nearly a dozen state houses and congresses, decades-long concern about foreign land ownership has skyrocketed since an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed the sky from Alaska to South Carolina

last month

this year.

How does life in Florida change for residents with all the political maneuvering?

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch a presidential campaign this week, signed the bill into law on May 8. His office did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The law will take effect on July 1. It will be a criminal offense for Chinese people to buy real estate in restricted areas or for any person or real estate company to knowingly sell to them. For the other targeted countries, the penalty is a felony for buyers and sellers.

It applies to military installations as well as infrastructure such as airports and seaports, water and wastewater treatment plants, natural gas and oil processing plants, power plants, spaceports and central telecommunications switching offices.

The ACLU says the law will have the net effect of creating Chinese exclusion zones that will cover huge swaths of Florida, including many of the states’ most populous and developed areas.

This impact is exactly what laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the California Alien Land Law of 1913 did more than a hundred years ago, the lawsuit said.

Those on the restricted list who already own property near critical infrastructure must register with the state or face fines of up to $1,000 per day. They are also prohibited from acquiring additional properties. The law contains provisions that allow the state to confiscate property belonging to offenders.

DeSantis wants to “make America Florida.” That could mean that there are many more uninsured people

The number of states restricting foreign ownership of farmland is up 50% this year.

Heading into 2023, 14 states had laws restricting foreign ownership or investment in private farmland. Restrictive laws have also been enacted this year in Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

Foreign land ownership has become a political focal point, said Micah Brown, a staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas.

Brown said the recent surge in state laws targeting entities holding land owned by foreigners stems from a number of high-profile cases of China-linked companies purchasing land near military bases. This year, the US Air Force said the $700 million wet corn milling plant planned by Fufeng Group near a base in Grand Forks, ND, poses a significant threat to national security.

After a Chinese military veteran and real estate tycoon bought a wind farm near an air base in Texas, that state responded in 2021 by banning infrastructure deals with individuals associated with hostile governments, including China.

Associated Press writer David Lieb of Jefferson City, Mo., contributed to this report.