AMENDMENT #1
AMENDMENT #1: RELATING TO PROPERTY RIGHTS/ INELIGIBLE ALIENS
Reference: Article I, Section 2
Summary: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to delete provisions authorizing the Legislature to regulate or prohibit the ownership, inheritance, disposition, and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship.
Sponsor: The Florida Legislature
Background: Article I, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution provides that equal rights are for all in Florida, but creates a glaring exception for “aliens ineligible for citizenship,” who can be stripped of the right to own property by the Legislature. The exception dates to the early 1900’s and is common to many states’ law, and was directed at Asian-American immigrants (the “Yellow Peril.”) Senate Joint Resolution 166, filed in 2007, proposed this amendment. Only New Mexico and Florida still have these provisions in their constitutions, and both states’ leaders are asking voters to remove the language this year.
PRO:
* The amendment would remove an outdated and discriminatory passage from our Declaration of Rights.
CON:
* Constitutional action is not necessary at this time because there is no present Florida statute prohibiting ownership of property by aliens ineligible for citizenship.
