Prefatory comments:
The ceasefire, while a necessary step, represents the bare minimum in addressing the ongoing crisis in Gaza. It follows 15 months of genocidal actions against the Palestinian people, which are themselves part of a broader 76-year history of occupation and systemic injustice.
The announcement of the ceasefire presents an important opportunity to assess the full scope of Israel’s illegal actions in Gaza. These actions have resulted in the tragic loss of over 47,000 Palestinian lives, nearly half of whom were innocent children. The enormity of this atrocity cannot be overstated.
It is essential to acknowledge that this genocide has been enabled by significant military aid, amounting to approximately 18 billion dollars, provided to Israel by the United States since October 2023. This support has directly contributed to the escalation of violence and the perpetuation of war crimes.
However, it must be underscored that the ceasefire, in and of itself, does not address the root causes of this conflict. The ultimate objective must remain the liberation of the Palestinian people through the realization of their human rights and the right to self-determination. A ceasefire without accountability for Israel’s war crimes is insufficient and hollow. Real justice can only be achieved through comprehensive measures that hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law.
The damage continues here at home for those of us in the United States. The inequities that play out in Gaza carry over to within our own borders, and MLFA has seen its own work increase dramatically as the need to address these impacts skyrockets. Below, track with us the impacts we expect to see here in the United States, even with the ceasefire currently in place.
Nonprofit Governance
- Increased Oversight on Funding and Compliance:
The ceasefire, following widespread global attention on the conflict, is coupled with increased scrutiny on nonprofit organizations involved in advocacy or humanitarian aid related to Palestine, as evidenced by HR 9495. Our governance department will need to ensure heightened transparency and compliance with U.S. regulations, particularly concerning foreign aid and donations, to avoid potential issues related to counter-terrorism financing laws and IRS regulations on political activities.
- Strengthening Partnerships and Collaborations:
Post-ceasefire, there may be an influx of interest from international and domestic organizations looking to collaborate on human rights advocacy, legal defense, and rebuilding efforts. MLFA’s governance department will likely need to focus on formalizing and overseeing partnerships, ensuring that agreements are compliant with nonprofit laws and that MLFA’s mission remains aligned with the legal frameworks of those collaborations.
- Policy and Advocacy Guidelines:
The ceasefire could lead to shifts in U.S. foreign policy or new legislative actions affecting nonprofits with ties to advocacy for Palestinian causes. Our nonprofit governance department may need to provide updated internal guidelines for MLFA’s advocacy efforts to ensure compliance with lobbying restrictions, IRS regulations, and any new federal policies. This may also include educating board members and leadership on how to navigate the political landscape while maintaining tax-exempt status.
- Risk Management and Legal Preparedness:
With the international attention on the conflict, the ceasefire may create heightened risks related to cybersecurity, reputational concerns, and legal challenges. MLFA’s governance department will consider proactive risk assessments and mitigation strategies, ensuring the organization is protected against legal liabilities or potential investigations that could arise from the complex legal landscape around Gaza advocacy.
Immigration Cases
- Refugee and Asylum Claims:
A ceasefire might temporarily halt the violence in Gaza, but the long-term conditions in Palestine that cause displacement (e.g., systemic discrimination, security risks) may persist. If a client from Gaza were to somehow enter the U.S. to make an asylum claim based on persecution, U.S. immigration officials might argue that the current cessation of hostilities reduces the urgency or legitimacy of their fear of returning home. We know that, to date, there are fewer than 140 Palestinian refugees who resettle in the U.S. over the past five years through the UN High Commission on Refugees. Additionally, even while the war on Gaza was ongoing, evacuations came to a virtual standstill, even those that were humanitarian or medically based. Thus, the forecast for any robust change to U.S. immigration policies and practices wherein Muslims from “disfavored countries” and/or Palestinians are afforded the opportunity to pursue lawful immigration status in the U.S. remains abhorrently dim. Those clients who are already in the steep battle to obtain or retain lawful status can certainly expect to face continued discrimination and even more extensive delays. This is in light of both the ceasefire as well as the current administration’s restrictive immigration policies. MLFA’s Immigration Department will work to prepare stronger asylum and refugee claims by highlighting ongoing risks and discrimination that persist despite the ceasefire.
- Delays in Visa Processing and Travel Bans:
If the U.S. or other nations adjust their policies on travel or visa processing in response to the ceasefire, again, our clients may face delays in cases involving Palestinians or individuals with ties to Gaza. Additionally, restrictions could be eased or tightened, depending on political developments, which would affect immigration filings, family reunification cases, or humanitarian parole. MLFA’s Immigration team can easily track changes in visa policies and continue advocating for clients who face delays to ensure they are not unjustly impacted by evolving restrictions.
- Humanitarian Grounds:
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza, even post-ceasefire, might give rise to more Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or similar relief requests (but it’s unlikely such relief would be afforded), which could impact immigration strategy. It is possible that, with enough pressure exerted on them, U.S. officials may increase humanitarian aid programs or resettlement opportunities for individuals displaced by the conflict, opening new avenues for immigration relief for our clients. MLFA’s extensive reach allows it to direct clients seeking TPS or humanitarian parole to best, current resources.
Criminal Defense / National Security Cases
- Increased Scrutiny and Surveillance:
Over the last fifteen months, MLFA has seen intensified surveillance and targeting of Muslim, Palestinian-American, and pro-Palestinian communities. After briefly identifying far-right nationalists as the primary domestic terror threat, the Biden administration’s FBI Director declared that homegrown violent extremists motivated by the Gaza conflict now pose the greatest domestic terror threat to the U.S. At MLFA we have seen this result in a mass mobilization of the FBI to interview Muslims and their allies, seek to recruit informants through pressure tactics, and approach activists and young people online through “online covert employees” aiming to entrap individuals through inflammatory political and religious speech. Federal criminal investigations, and especially sting operations, take several years in many cases. We are only now beginning to see the impact on the community. With the ceasefire coinciding with the change in administration, MLFA expects the FBI’s significant counterterrorism resources to be deployed largely against vulnerable Muslim, Palestinian, and allied communities as there is no political will to address far-right domestic terrorism.
- Prosecutions Stemming from Political Activity and Speech:
While a ceasefire could calm tensions on the ground, pro-Palestine political and religious advocacy will likely continue. At the state level, student protestors or activists involved in confrontation or civil disobedience during protests may still face disproportionate criminal charges for offenses such as unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. At the federal level, where MLFA defends individuals, we know the FBI’s Counterterrorism division has spent significant resources initiating investigations into organizations, activists, vulnerable and vocal young people online, immigrants, and many others. We expect that problematic entrapment tactics are being used in private online spaces to surveil, target, or entrap pro-Palestinian individuals engaged in radical political or religious speech. MLFA’s experience in defending against overreaching material support of terrorism prosecutions has revealed many of these law enforcement abuses, and we expect that for some time there will be an FBI focus on investigating support of Hamas, or other U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations in Palestine. We are prepared to vigorously defend against these abusive practices.
- Foreign Relations and International Aid Efforts;
Several U.S. citizens are the subjects of discriminatory investigations for attempted material support of Hamas and other U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations. Many U.S. non-profits face similar investigations. Some U.S. citizens are trapped in Israeli prisons. With a ceasefire, several critical areas will switch focus. International aid will now be flowing into Gaza, increasing the scrutiny on non-profits for material support of terrorism and sanctions violations. Robust compliance advice on these activities to ensure aid efforts are lawful and protected is a focus for MLFA’s Criminal Defense Department (in supplement to the non-profit screenings provided by the Non-Profit Dept). Also, Israeli intelligence coordination with U.S. intelligence agencies will switch focus from the immediacy of conflict to activity like reporting terrorism designations, new listees, and reports on suspicious activity. In MLFA’s experience, this intelligence coordination in the past has led to biased and often baseless targeting of innocent Muslims for their political or religious speech and questionable evidence in criminal cases. We can also expect that, in the current political and administrative climate, our clients may face an unwelcome reception or unfavorable outcome in court as we navigate an intensely partisan, personality-driven criminal justice arena.
Civil Litigation (Student Protestors and American Muslims for Palestine)
- Protests and Free Speech Litigation:
The ceasefire will likely have minimal impact on protests here at home. Our clients’ rights to free speech including in support of Palestine, remain a key issue. We expect animosity and profile of protestors to continue, even as many still fight the residual impacts from resistance to their free speech from before the ceasefire. And, litigation cases will continue to arise from attempts to silence or punish protestors, especially on college campuses where students and professors alike face disciplinary action. Legal battles over free speech, academic freedom, and discriminatory practices remain active already, with more on the horizon. These rights do not end even if headlines fade, and neither does MLFA’s work or determination on behalf of its clients.
- Surveillance, Watchlisting and Profiling:
We anticipate, and already see signs of, intensified surveillance and profiling of Muslim and Palestinian-American communities. This comes to light at airports and borders, where many find themselves encountering travel difficulties even where they previously had none. Others suffer adverse employment actions because of their views, national origin, religion, or social media posts – both recent and from the internet’s archives. And doxing isn’t dead yet either, unfortunately, with invasions into privacy and the right to peaceful everyday rights impinged by those resentful of views community members voice—or don’t even voice, but which others perceive they may have. Some federal laws address these claims, and many protections applicable here derive from long-standing laws not found in standard “free speech” repertoires. Discriminatory interference with contract rights, employment discrimination, and federal Privacy Act violations provide unexpected remedies for many of these harms. We expect the harms to continue and MLFA stands ready with more than one legal arrow in response.
- Anti-Boycott Laws and Litigation:
The American Muslims for Palestine and other similarly situated groups continue facing challenges under anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) language and state-level legislation. While the ceasefire might lessen tensions in some ways, our Civil Litigation Department also expects it—and the new administration—to embolden legal efforts to counter BDS-related activism. These laws often target individuals and organizations that continue advocacy related to Gaza and Palestine, violating the Establishment Clause, free expression, and associational rights of minority Americans.
- Erosion of Civil Rights Enforcements:
We expect to see the erosion of civil rights enforcements that for decades now have, to varying degrees, become standard. Instead, we expect to now see religious “rights” used aggressively to chill any unpopular religious expression. As already seen in states like Texas and Florida, this includes overly solicitous language favoring one preferred religion at the expense of others, both in schools and in statewide laws generally. Unfortunately, the disparity between treatment of claims of antisemitism and claims of Islamophobia will likely continue to rise. To counteract that, MLFA anticipates expanding educational efforts and awareness—the more the language and media streams become balanced, the better the narratives. And, federal statutes won’t change any time soon, and even attempted changes to constitutional rights won’t stick. So, MLFA’s Civil Litigation team will still have room to fight in the courts, too.
Concluding Remarks:
Overall, while the ceasefire may lead to some de-escalation in immediate tensions, the underlying legal issues our departments handle—whether nonprofit governance, immigration, criminal defense, or civil litigation —existed long before the ceasefire and will likely continue in the months and years to come. We will continue to closely monitor how U.S. government policies, law enforcement practices, and public attitudes shift in response to the situation, and continue to keep agencies and governmental entities in check when they overstep what the law allows.
