1/26/26 Reposted from thetexan.news
The MLFA filed for a preliminary injunction against Abbott’s terrorism claims.
The Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) filed a motion on January 22 for a preliminary injunction against Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation “which unlawfully designates CAIR and its affiliates as a foreign terrorist and criminal organization.”
In November, Abbott designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), along with the Muslim Brotherhood, as foreign terrorist organizations in Proclamation 41-4241.
The delineation has prompted significant controversy within the state, with Abbott calling for investigations into the supposed implementation of Sharia law through the Dallas Islamic Tribunal, alongside Attorney General Ken Paxton’s call for investigations into the East Plano Islamic Center’s (EPIC) residential development The Meadow — formerly known as EPIC City — for procedural violations and fraud.
Abbott’s proclamation states that “the Council on American-Islamic Relations (‘CAIR’) is an Islamist organization that, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (‘FBI’), was founded as a ‘front group’ for ‘Hamas and its support network’ in the United States.”
The MLFA rebutted the governor in their announcement of legal action, writing, “Governor Abbott lacks the authority to designate any entity as a foreign terrorist or criminal organization under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which overrides state law in areas regulated by the federal government.”
“Governor Abbott’s unlawful designations subject CAIR’s affiliates to heightened penalties under Texas law and prohibitions on purchasing or acquiring property in Texas, all without the constitutional requirement of due process.”
Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution — the Supremacy Clause — states: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
Chelsea Glover, MLFA Civil Litigation Senior Staff Attorney, said about the legality of the state authority in question, “Governor Abbott is not the President and has no authority to designate any entity as a foreign terrorist organization or transnational criminal organization, let alone a longstanding American civil rights organization.”
“This Proclamation continues his pattern of escalating Islamophobia in Texas.”
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21), who is currently in the running for Texas attorney general, released a statement this month regarding the legal battle, “Texas is under assault, and Sharia Law is directly in conflict with Western civilization. The governor is absolutely right to declare CAIR a terrorist organization.”
Roy is running against former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Aaron Reitz and state Sens. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) and Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) in the Republican primary.
The preliminary injunction, if approved, would pause the enforcement of the designation until a judgment is issued.
“This case is about whether the rule of law still means something in Texas,” stated Jinan Chehade, MLFA Civil Litigation Junior Staff Attorney.
“If a governor can unilaterally brand Muslim civil-rights organizations as ‘terrorist’ and impose penalties without any process, then no organization, and no community, is safe from political retaliation.”
Amid the clamour of ongoing litigation, on January 22, the Austin City Council declared January “Muslim Heritage Month” with the aim to “celebrate Muslim communities and promote greater public understanding of their contributions.”
The resolution continued, “The City Manager is directed to identify opportunities for the City to support heritage and faith-based observance months by researching how peer cities do so and to provide recommendations for how the City can collaborate with Muslim community leaders and other community stakeholders to support and uplift their respective heritage and faith-based observance months.”
