Muslim civil rights and advocacy group welcomes court’s decision to significantly limit Texas governor’s fishing expedition

(WASHINGTON, DC – 5/7/2026) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott for “blatantly lying” about a court order issued this week as part of the group’s ongoing lawsuit against the governor’s unconstitutional terrorism proclamation.

CAIR also welcomed the federal court’s decision to significantly limit Abbott’s attempt to go on a “fishing expedition” into the organization.

In the months since CAIR’s Texas chapters filed a federal lawsuit to block implementation of Mr. Abbott’s unconstitutional “terrorism” proclamation that purports to ban CAIR from purchasing land in the state, the governor has tried to delay a judicial ruling on the merits of his proclamation and instead use the discovery process to pursue a witch hunt into CAIR and its supporters.

Most recently, Abbott filed a discovery motion that demanded the names of every donor who has supported CAIR’s work over the past ten years. The court rejected his demand, ruling instead that the governor can conduct only a limited review of any foreign donations made to CAIR between 2021 and 2024 above a certain monetary amount. The court also significantly limited Abbott’s other requests for information.

In the wake of the ruling, Governor Abbott falsely claimed in a public post on X that the court had granted his request for CAIR’s entire “donor list” and donee list.”

In a statement, CAIR said:

“Facts matter in court. So does the law. Contrary to Greg Abbott’s claim, a federal court just rejected his attempt to go on a McCarthyist fishing expedition into our civil rights work.

“Mr. Abbott wanted the names of every American who has donated to CAIR over the past ten years, but the court ruled that he can only review the names of any foreign donors who may have donated to us from 2021 to 2024 above a certain monetary limit.

“So be it. As an American civil rights organization, we rely on the American people for support. Nearly all of our donations from people across America, many of them not even Muslim.  

“That Governor Abbott would try to celebrate and distort an order where the vast majority of his discovery was rejected underscores his ‘proclamation’ is nothing more than bad political theater.

“We look forward to defeating Governor Abbott’s unconstitutional antics in court for the fourth time in a row and once again protecting every American’s right to free speech, God willing.”

CAIR’s operational budget is overwhelmingly funded by donations from the American people. While most of those donations come from American Muslims, many of our donations come from the broader American public. In any given year, a small and negligible percentage of donations to CAIR come from individuals who are not based in the United States. In 2023, less than one percent of our donors were individuals based outside of America, most of them in Canada, and their contributions represented less than one percent of the total raised that year.

BACKGROUNDER:

CAIR has filed and won lawsuits three different times in recent years that blocked Texas’ attempts to silence Americans critical of the Israeli government, including a civil engineer, a school teacher, and college student groups.

In apparent retaliation, Governor Abbott issued a unilateral and unconstitutional proclamation declaring CAIR, an registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, a “foreign terrorist group” and barring it from purchasing land in Texas. 

Various civil rights groups like the ACLU of Texas, political groups like the Texas Democratic Party, 27 Texas State Representatives, and members of Congress have condemned Governor Abbott’s illegal targeting of CAIR.

“This proclamation raises significant First Amendment and due process concerns. It represents the latest escalation by state officials in a pattern of politically motivated attacks on nonprofit organizations led by, and primarily serving, immigrants and communities of color. We demand transparency and accountability in government actions that impact community-serving nonprofits and remain committed to working toward a freer and fairer Texas for all.” – ACLU TX

“Abbott’s Islamophobic attacks threaten the freedoms of us all…When politicians decide who gets rights based on fear and prejudice, every American’s liberty is at risk.” – Asian Americans Advancing Justice

“Texas leaders are weaponizing their power against our communities — and we’re calling it out. These attacks are political retaliation against Texans who dare to organize, vote, and speak out.” – Asian Texans for Justice

“This designation is an attack on democracy, especially the Bill of Rights and is utterly unacceptable. We urge all Americans, faith leaders, civil society advocates, and elected officials to defend Muslim Americans’ right to organize and enjoy their first amendment.” – Sign-on Statement initiated by Justice for All. Endorsed by 10 national organizations, 8 coalitions, 60 state and local organizations, 24 businesses, and 2 individuals as of 12:30 Eastern on November 20, 2025. 

“Rather than addressing the real needs of Texans, Governor Abbott continues to squander time and resources on performative gestures aimed at satisfying his allies within the Islamophobia industry and pro-Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC.” – American Muslims for Palestine

“This is political theater at its worst: weaponizing fear, pandering to bigotry, and endangering the civil liberties of millions of Americans.” – Muslim American Society

“This is an Islamophobic and inflammatory act of political theatre designed to malign a well-known civil rights organization, which has taken up critical work in defense of our communities for over 30 years.” – Palestine Youth Movement

“This designation is unconstitutional, unsupported by any credible factual basis, and represents bigotry on its face. It stigmatizes an entire community and chills the First Amendment rights of Muslim Texans and all organizations engaged in lawful advocacy.” – Muslim Bar Association of Houston

“The normalization of anti-Muslim hate speech is vile. This bigot [Abbott] should have no place in elected office.” – Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)

“This is a dangerous, racist, and Islamophobic designation, which is a complete degradation of the First Amendment. While Greg Abbott and the Republicans claim to follow the Constitution, they would trample on someone’s First Amendment rights when they don’t agree with or worship with them.” – Texas Democratic Party

“Texas is strongest when we honor our values of tolerance, pluralism, and respect for all people, and we urge the governor to revoke this decision and reaffirm our state’s commitment to true religious freedom.” – 27 TX State Reps. including Salman Bhojani, Linda Garcia, Jolanda Jones, Lauren Ashley, Ron Reynolds, Chris Turner, Christina Morales, Jessica Gonzalez, Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, Ann Johnson, Suleman Lalani, Donna Howard, Ray Lopez, Armando Walle, Gervin-Hawkins, Vikki Goodwin, Lulu Flores, Josey Garcia, Ana Hernandez, Mihaela Plesea, Terry Meza, Charlene Ward Johnson, Vincent Perez, and Rafael Anchia.

“Allowing the Governor to be the sole arbiter of which American is or is not welcome in our state is incredibly dangerous. This is the emergence of thought crimes, and it should be deeply concerning to every Texan who values Liberty.” – Texas State Rep. Gene Wu

“CAIR—the Council on American-Islamic Relations—has spent decades protecting civil rights, combatting discrimination, and defending Texans from religious hostility. Your proclamation is not about safety. It is about targeting Muslims to score political points.” – TX State Rep. Jolanda Jones

“Governor Abbott’s proclamation smearing CAIR is false, Islamophobic, and dangerous for Muslims across Texas. I stand with our Muslim, Latino, and Asian communities and urge you to call the Governor’s office and reject this politics of fear.” – Texas State Rep. Suleman Lalani

“I strongly condemn Governor Abbott’s dangerous and Islamophobic action targeting CAIR. CAIR is a vital civil-rights organization that supports Muslim Texans facing discrimination. This decision promotes Islamophobia and harms our communities. “ – Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer

“Governor Abbott’s proclamation is a shameful, un-American attack on religious freedom.”

– Harris County Democratic Party

“The Governor’s rhetoric fractures community trust and undermines the safety and cohesion that government is meant to protect. We, as Harris County Commissioners, condemn the Governor’s decision and urge him to reverse it.” – Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis, Lesley Briones, and Adrian Garcia 

“Our role as public servants is to keep people safe and bring people together, not single out residents because of their faith or heritage.” – Former Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee

“Stoking Islamophobia has, for too long, been a ploy for political points. Politicians like Greg Abbott try to stoke the fires of division by othering Minority groups and denying equal rights even to American citizens.”  – Austin City Councilmembers Krista Laine, Mike Seigel, and Zo Qadri

END

CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com; Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR-Austin Operations Manager, (512) 785-7105, szayan@cair.com; Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-DFW Executive Director, (832) 549-1042, mcarroll@cair.com; Sameeha Rizvi, CAIR-Austin Civic Engagement Organizer, srizvi@cair.com