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AMENDMENT 1: Relating To Property Rights/Ineligible Aliens

Poll Opened: October 23, 2008

Poll Closes: November 30, 2008

AMENDMENT 1: Relating To Property Rights/Ineligible Aliens

ON THE BALLOT: "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."

THE GIST: This constitutional amendment would remove language adopted in 1926 that blocked people ineligible for U.S. citizenship from owning property in Florida. The alien land law essentially targeted Asian immigrants, who were denied the right to become naturalized citizens based solely on their race. Florida is one of two states to keep an alien land law on the books. The other is New Mexico.

PROS: Supporters say removing the language is essentially a symbolic gesture. The law has never been utilized in Florida, many other states have removed similar laws and, in 1952, Congress removed race as a hurdle altogether, allowing all ethnic groups to be eligible for citizenship.

CONS: Critics say that removing the provision limits the state's ability to regulate property controlled by foreign interests, particularly in an era when terrorism remains a threat.

- John W. Allman

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