The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a statement of interest last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida challenging legislation that restricts foreign ownership of land, arguing that it raises substantial legal and constitutional questions.

Passed by the Florida legislature, Senate Bill 264 (23R) prohibits or restricts foreign individuals or entities from “foreign countries of concern” (defined as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria) from acquiring or owning agricultural lands in the state. The DOJ’s challenge asserts that this law violates the federal Fair Housing Act and, consequently, the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment.