#美國華人的生活如何？##美國華人生活得好嗎##華人在美國的真實處境如何#
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28歲的莉沙·李11年前從中國來美國讀大學。在宿舍和破舊的較高價的電梯大廈居住多年後，莉沙·李迫不及待地想擁有自己的新家。
美國亞裔舉行遊行示威活動反對歧視
她看上了邁阿密金融區一個擁有河景的一房間較高價的電梯大廈，這個較高價的電梯大廈位于一個安全社群。李聽說，鄰居與她很像，不喜歡派對而喜歡安靜。她參與競拍并在中标後開始訂購家具。
然後情況突變。在最後一刻，該房産公司提出了對遠在幾英裡外的一個美國海岸警衛隊前哨站的擔憂。該公司表示，她購買這間較高價的電梯大廈可能會與佛羅裡達州頒布一項新法律相沖突，該法律禁止中國公民在該州購買房産，尤其是在軍事設施、機場或煉油廠附近。
根據法律，李可能會面臨牢獄之災，而賣方者和房地産經紀人可能也須承擔責任。結果交易失敗。
“整個經曆非常受傷和累人，”李最近在她仍租房子的邁阿密一家咖啡館接受采訪時說，“我隻是覺得，作為一個在這個國家生活和工作多年的人，作為一個合法的納稅人，至少我應該可以買一套可以自己住的房子。"
超過30多個州已經或正在考慮頒布類似的法律，限制中國公民和企業購買土地，說此類交易對國家安全構成日益嚴重的威脅，聲稱聯邦政府未能阻止中國共産黨在美國的影響。
去年7月生效的佛羅裡達州法律是影響最深遠的法律之一。除了禁止中國實體購買農業用地外，它還有效地禁止了大多數沒有獲得綠卡的中國人購買住宅。佛羅裡達州長羅恩·德桑蒂斯在宣布開始競選共和黨總統候選人之前簽署了這項法律，他警告選民，中國是美國面臨的最大威脅。
在對居住在佛羅裡達州的十幾個中國人的采訪中，他們對被切斷購買房産這個最後的美國夢表示沮喪。另一些中國居民說，他們在試圖買房時受到歧視。還有一些人說，他們擔心自己是否會無意中違反法律。
擁有一所住房是美國夢的三大要素之一
民權和亞裔美國人團體尚未注意到是否有人因這些新法律受到指控。但一些華人表示，他們感到反華情緒正在加劇。反對這一法律的團體目前正在向聯邦法院起訴該法律。
金·邊（音譯）是一名目前在佛羅裡達坦帕市工作的軟體開發人員，他作為現在被禁止購買房産的中國移民之一說：“在這項法律出台之前，我從未注意歧視問題，但現在我在想我是否需要離開佛羅裡達。"
該法案還對房地産行業産生了明顯的寒蟬效應，而房地産業是佛羅裡達州經濟的重要組成部分。當地開發商經常依賴中國投資者來幫助在該州建設項目，該法律似乎已經禁止了此類資金，這引發了一個著名的房地産遊說團體的抵制。
玉基·胡（Yukey Hoo）是奧蘭多郊區冬季花園的一名房地産經紀人，她估計她已經拒絕了10個潛在客戶，大約是她平時業務的五分之一，因為她無法确定他們是否有資格購買房産。
該法律在技術上适用于那些在中國“定居”（domiciled）且沒有美國國籍或永久居留權的人，許多困惑都集中在“定居”的意義上。賣家和房地産經紀人可能因違法而面臨最高一年的監禁。
已經在佛羅裡達從事房地産業務10年玉基·胡說：“我每天都會接到人們的電話，問他們是否能依法買到房子。我告訴他們要和律師談談，但對于那些無法确認他們身份的人，我們不想承擔風險。"
佛羅裡達州的法律總共限制六個受“關注國”如“委内瑞拉和古巴”的“外國委托人”擁有财産。但是，最重的限制和最嚴厲的懲罰都是專門針對中國公民的。
該法案是佛羅裡達州立法機構去年春天通過的一項更廣泛的一攬子法律的一部分，其中還包括一項限制該州的公立大學和學院向來自中國和其他國家的學生提供研究職位的法律。該法律也受到違憲的起訴。
民權和居民團體在聯邦法院起訴了佛羅裡達州的法律，理由是它違反了《平等保護條款》和《公平住房法》，并削弱了聯邦政府在外交事務方面的權力。
美國公民自由聯盟的資深從業人員律師阿什利·戈爾斯基說：“沒有證據表明中國房主會對國家安全造成損害。”他所在的聯盟是提起訴訟的幾個團體之一。
哥倫比亞大學曆史學和亞裔美國人研究教授梅·恩蓋說，佛羅裡達的法律讓人想起20世紀初的外國人土地法，該法律事實上禁止亞洲移民購買農田，在某些情況下，還禁止購買許多州的房屋。
恩蓋說：“他們把亞洲人視為将接管美國的外星人入侵。”
在去年春天該法案提出後，佛羅裡達州的華人社群開始瘋狂地組織集會和敲門活動表達他們的反對意見。
在德克薩斯州，來自包括一名前華裔共和黨州議員的亞裔美國人社群的反對，幫助撤銷了一項類似法案中的一些條款。但是在佛羅裡達州，華人社會隻占該州人口的0.6%。許多人是到該州上大學或工作的第一代移民。在立法機構中也沒有亞裔美國政治人物的聲音。
中國人隻占佛羅裡達州人口的0.6%，且不關心政治
塔拉哈西的一名房地産經紀人桑尼·朗說，她現在會仔細研究谷歌地圖，以估算她的中國客戶有資格購買房産的地方。佛羅裡達有大約20個主要軍事基地，許多小型的軍事前哨，甚至機場和水處理廠等所謂重要設施都被該法律覆寫在範圍之内。
她說：“我的很多客戶都想在一個有一個好學區的社群購買住房，但那裡離機場太近了，這對我來說是一個巨大的考驗。"
亞裔美國人還擔心，該法律将導緻對任何被認為是中國人的人進行定性，無論他們是否擁有公民或常住許可身份。
一名男子說，他在看房時與父母用國語交談了幾句，帶他們看房的地産經紀人就問他是否有資格買房。
棕榈灘花園的房地産經紀人伊芙琳·楊說，該法律生效後不久，她就代表一位擁有永久居住權的中國客戶多次詢問邁阿密的一套較高價的電梯大廈，但好多天沒有收到賣家經紀人的回複。
楊回憶說：“當他們最終回複我的電話時，他們隻是說，‘你的買家能買嗎？中國人現在是不是不能買？當他們看到我們的名字是中文時，就認為我們不能買。"
國家公平住房聯盟的進階法律顧問斯科特·張說，這種互動就可以被視為基于國籍的故意歧視，而這是1968年的《公平住房法案》所禁止的。周一，該聯盟和其他幾個組織計劃宣布一項新的訴訟。
在她的購房嘗試失敗近一年後，遙邁阿密租房的莉沙·李仍然記憶猶新地回憶起那些瘋狂地試圖挽救她的交易的日子。
對律師和州議員的絕望呼籲，計算距離所花費的時間，她的房地産經紀人甚至開車到位于南海灘的海岸警衛隊前哨站，試圖确定這是否是法律規定的“軍事設施”。
李說，她仍然喜歡住在邁阿密。和她以前住過的紐約市相比，這裡很幹淨。她喜歡在棕榈島公園的球場上上網球課和與朋友們一起探索多種多樣的食物。
但買房經曆給她留下了難忘的苦澀。
她說：“我想我可能不得不離開，“誰知道他們下一步會提出什麼政策呢？"
When Buying a Home Is Treated as a National Security Threat. By Amy Qin and Patricia Mazzei on The New York Times, May 6, 2024。
After years of living in dorms and subpar apartments, Lisa Li could not wait to close on her new home.
The one-bedroom condo in Miami’s financial district had a view of the river, was in a safe neighborhood and, Li heard, had neighbors who were much like her — less party, more chill. So Li, 28, who came to the United States 11 years ago as a college student from China, put in an offer, had her bid accepted and began ordering furniture.
Then things took a sharp turn. At the last minute, the title company raised concerns about a small U.S. Coast Guard outpost near South Beach a few miles away. Her purchase, the company said, might run afoul of a new Florida law that prohibits many Chinese citizens from buying property in the state, especially near military installations, airports or refineries.
Under the law, Li could face prison time, and the sellers and real estate agents could be held liable. The deal collapsed.
“The whole experience was very hurtful and tiring,” Li said in a recent interview at a cafe in Miami, where she is still renting. “I just feel that, as someone who has lived and worked in this country for many years, and as a legal taxpayer, at the very least I should have the ability to buy a home that I can live in.”
More than three dozen states have enacted or are considering similar laws restricting land purchases by Chinese citizens and companies, arguing that such transactions are a growing threat to national security and that the federal government has failed to stop Chinese Communist Party influence in America.
Florida’s law, which went into effect in July, is among the furthest reaching. In addition to barring Chinese entities from buying agricultural land, it effectively prohibits most Chinese individuals without a green card from purchasing residential property. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the measure just before launching his Republican presidential campaign, warning voters that China represented the biggest threat to the United States.
In more than a dozen interviews, Chinese residents in Florida voiced frustrations about being cut off from the ultimate American dream. Other residents of Chinese descent said they faced discrimination as they tried to buy a home. Some said they lived in fear over whether they may have inadvertently violated the law.
Civil rights and Asian American groups are unaware of anyone being charged with violating the law. But some people of Chinese descent said they feel the anti-China sentiment intensifying. The law is currently being challenged in federal court.
“I never felt any discrimination here before this law,” said Jin Bian, a Chinese software developer who works in Tampa and is among those now barred from buying property. “But now I’m wondering if I need to leave Florida.”
The law has also had an apparent chilling effect on the real estate industry, an important part of the state’s economy. Developers often rely on Chinese investors to help build projects in Florida, and the law appears to have barred such financing, prompting pushback from a prominent real estate lobbying group.
Yukey Hoo, a real estate agent in Winter Garden, a suburb of Orlando, estimated that she has turned away 10 potential clients — about one-fifth of her usual business — because she could not determine whether they were eligible to buy property.
The law technically applies to people who are “domiciled” in China and don’t hold U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, and much of the confusion has centered on what “domicile” means. Sellers and real estate agents can face up to one year of prison time for violating the law.
“Every day I am getting phone calls from people asking if they can buy a house under the law,” said Hoo, who has sold real estate in Florida for 10 years. “I tell them to talk to an attorney, but for those who aren’t sure about their status, we don’t want to take the risk.”
The Florida law restricts “foreign principals” from six other “countries of concern,” like Venezuela and Cuba, from owning property. But the most onerous restrictions — and harshest penalties — are specifically aimed at Chinese citizens.
The law was part of a broader package passed by the Florida Legislature last spring that included a bill restricting the state’s public universities and colleges from offering research positions to students from China and other countries. That law is also being challenged in court.
Civil rights groups and residents have challenged the Florida law in federal court on grounds that it violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Fair Housing Act, and that it undercuts the federal government powers on foreign affairs.
“There’s no evidence that Chinese homeownership poses harm to national security,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, one of several groups that brought the suit.
Mae Ngai, a professor of history and Asian American Studies at Columbia University, said the Florida law recalled the alien land laws from the early 20th century, which effectively prohibited Asian immigrants from buying farmland and, in some cases, homes in many states.
“They saw Asians as an alien invasion that was going to take over America,” Ngai said.
After the bill was introduced last spring, the Chinese community in Florida began frantically organizing rallies and door-knocking sessions.
In Texas, opposition from the Asian American community, including a former Republican lawmaker of Chinese descent, helped roll back some provisions in a similar bill. But in Florida, the Chinese community is just 0.6% of the population. Many are first-generation immigrants who moved to the state to study or work at universities. And there are very few Asian American politicians in the Legislature.
Sunny Long, a real estate agent in Tallahassee, said that she now pores over Google Maps to approximate where her Chinese clients could be eligible to buy property. Florida has around 20 major military bases, many small military outposts and even more critical facilities like airports and water treatment plants that could be covered under the law.
“Many of my clients would like to buy in a certain neighborhood that has a good school district, but it’s too close to the airport,” she said. “It’s been a big test for me.”
Asian Americans are also concerned that the law has led to profiling of anyone perceived to be Chinese, no matter their citizenship or residency status.
One man said a real estate agent at an open house asked him if he was qualified to buy the house after he chatted in Mandarin with his parents.
Evelyn Yang, a real estate agent in Palm Beach Gardens, said that shortly after the law went into effect, she repeatedly made inquiries about an apartment in Miami on behalf of a Chinese client who had permanent residency. She didn’t hear back from the seller’s agent for days, she said.
“When they finally returned my calls, they just said, ‘Can your buyer buy? Can’t Chinese people not buy right now?’” Yang recalled. “They see that our names are Chinese and assume that we can’t buy.”
Such interactions could be considered intentional discrimination based on national origin, which is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, said Scott Chang, senior counsel for the National Fair Housing Alliance. On Monday, the alliance and several other groups plan to announce a new lawsuit making that allegation.
Nearly one year after her homebuying attempt fell through, Li, the renter in Miami, still vividly recalls the days spent frantically trying to salvage her deal.
The desperate calls to attorneys and state lawmakers. The time spent calculating distances. Li’s real estate agent even drove to the Coast Guard outpost on South Beach to try to determine if it was a “military installation” under the law.
Li said she still loved living in Miami. It was clean compared to New York City, where she lived before. She loved taking tennis lessons at the courts in Palm Island Park and exploring the diverse food scene with her friends.
But the experience left her with a bitter taste.
“I think I may just have to leave,” she said. “Who knows what policies they might come up with next?”