Washington DC- The National Iranian American Council issued the following statement in support of the legal challenge to discriminatory Florida law SB 264 and rally being organized by the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance (FAAJA), the Yick Wo Institution and their partners:
Back to topToday, a judge in a federal court in Tallahassee will either grant or not grant a preliminary injunction filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA), and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) that would seek to declare discriminatory Florida law S.B. 264 unconstitutional.
As of July 1st, S.B. 264 officially became state law in Florida after being signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 8th, 2023. This modern-day alien land law prohibits certain nationals from immigrant groups–including individuals from China, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran– from purchasing many types of property in the state of Florida based on their heritage.
Since the inception of this xenophobic law, the National Iranian American Council has sounded the alarm and worked with many partner organizations to mobilize against it, which includes the present lawsuit whose preliminary injunction is being decided on today. Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the federal government to support the above-mentioned coalition’s injunction on June 27th.
Continuing the pattern of robust grassroots mobilization from all those impacted by this law, a rally is being held outside of Tallahassee courthouse by FAAJA and the Yick Wo Institution today–July 18th, 2023–to support the lawsuit being led by the ACLU and Asian American organizations in favor of immigrant property rights, just ahead of a judge’s decision on the preliminary injunction. We are proud that Iranian Americans will join and speak out against this xenophobic law, and we look forward to celebrating when it is overturned.
NIAC emphatically supports these efforts in challenging and working to overturn xenophobic laws in the United States. Alien land laws from over 100 years ago had no place in the fabric of U.S. society then, and they certainly have no place in that same fabric today.