Judge Rejects Request to Block Florida Law Restricting Chinese Land Ownership

The judge said plaintiffs are “unlikely to show the law lacks any rational basis.”

An expensive waterfront property is seen in Miami on June 3, 2014. Corrupt Chinese officials are increasingly looking for luxury properties in the United States. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A federal judge has denied a request to block a new Florida law that bars Chinese nationals from acquiring land, saying the plaintiffs are “unlikely to show the law lacks any rational basis.”

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor on Aug. 17 denied a preliminary injunction motion filed by four Chinese citizens and a real estate firm concerning the law, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May.