Shen v. Simpson

In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed SB 264, which unfairly restricts most Chinese citizens—and most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea—from purchasing homes in the state. The law bars people who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and whose “domicile,” or permanent home, is in China, from purchasing property in Florida altogether. A similar but less restrictive rule would apply to citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, and other “countries of concern.”

This law recalls similar efforts over the past century to weaponize false claims of “national security” against Asian immigrants and other marginalized communities. In the early 1900s, states across the country used similar justifications to pass “alien land laws” designed to prohibit Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming landowners.

We and our partners filed a federal lawsuit on May 22, 2023, representing an Orlando-based real estate firm and four Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida. The district court denied a preliminary injunction, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial in November 2025. The case was then voluntarily dismissed.

The Latest: The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction, and the case was then voluntarily dismissed.