Chinese Residents Slam Florida Property Ban

After his employer implemented a return-to-office policy last year, Jin Bian decided to cut down his one-hour commute time by purchasing a house closer to the office in Tampa, Florida.

Ever since SB 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state.

Then, he was told the purchase might get him prison time. “That was really shocking to me. It’s just purchasing property,” Bian, who is originally from Nanjing, China, said. “Once I learned that, I didn’t even bother to look anymore,” he told Samantha Delouya of CNN.

Bian, a 31-year-old software engineer who has lived in the US for 12 years, is a recipient of an H-1B visa, which allows companies to hire him.

For nearly a year, however, it has been a crime for him to purchase a home in Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law restricting Chinese nationals without US green cards from purchasing property in the state.

Bian and other Florida residents told CNN that the rules have fostered uneasiness and confusion among ethnic Chinese people living in the state.

Under State Bill 264, citizens of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria are prohibited from buying property within 10 miles of any “military installation or critical infrastructure facility” in Florida.

Some say the law has damaged their businesses, while others say they are considering abandoning Florida altogether.

And the law underscores the heightened tensions between the two biggest economies in the world in a US presidential election year.

Bian said that lately, he had begun reconsidering his life in Florida. He isn’t alone. Ever since SB 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state.

Sellers and real estate agents can also be found liable under the law. “We feel like we’re different from everyone else because of this type of law,” said Echo King, a US citizen who was born in China and is president of the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance.

“We feel like we’re not welcome.”