Critics of a Florida law prohibiting state universities from hiring students from China and six other countries won an important legal victory last week in their effort to overturn the measure.
The 2023 law bars the state government from hiring anyone living in China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. Its terms apply to faculty members at the state’s 12 public colleges and universities trying to hire a graduate assistant or postdoctoral fellow to help with their research. Last year, two Chinese graduate students at Florida International University (FIU) and a University of Florida (UF) faculty member sued to block the law, known as SB 846. On 10 February, the plaintiffs notched an early win when a federal magistrate judge recommended that the U.S. District Court grant a preliminary injunction that would suspend enforcement of the law.
“This decision is critical in ensuring that talent and potential are never limited by nationality or origin,” says Yasheng Huang, president of the Asian American Scholar Forum, which is working with the plaintiffs. The district judge will typically follow a magistrate judge’s advice, says attorney Keliang “Clay” Zhu of the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance, which filed the suit (Yin v. Diaz) against the Florida Board of Governors and other state education officials. But it could take months for the judge to rule, he adds.
Read more at Science.
