Designate CAIR as a Terrorist Organization Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Designate CAIR as a Terrorist Organization Act does not itself designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a foreign terrorist organization. It directs the Secretary of State, in collaboration with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, to conduct a formal review under Immigration and Nationality Act section 219 within 90 days. The report to Congress must summarize the findings and either identify any resulting CAIR designation or explain why the Secretary determined CAIR did not meet the foreign terrorist organization criteria. The findings section lays out congressional allegations involving the Holy Land Foundation case, alleged Hamas relationships, state resolutions, and suspended FBI contact, making the review politically and legally significant for CAIR, federal counterterrorism agencies, Muslim civil-rights advocacy, and groups seeking stronger anti-Hamas enforcement.
Who Benefits and How
Pro-Israel advocacy organizations benefit because the bill forces a formal State Department review of CAIR under foreign terrorist organization criteria. Counterterrorism oversight committees benefit from a required report explaining whether designation standards are met. Federal investigators benefit if the review surfaces consolidated information from State, Justice, and Treasury. Groups opposing CAIR benefit politically from congressional findings and a mandatory review process.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Council on American-Islamic Relations bears reputational and legal risk from a formal FTO review and potential designation. The Secretary of State must conduct the section 219 review and report to Congress within 90 days. The Attorney General and Treasury Secretary must collaborate on the review. Muslim civil-rights advocates may face political spillover if the review is used to question lawful advocacy activity.
Key Provisions
- Requires a formal review of CAIR under Immigration and Nationality Act foreign terrorist organization criteria.
- Directs the Secretary of State to collaborate with the Attorney General and Treasury Secretary.
- Requires a congressional report within 90 days summarizing findings and any resulting designation.
- Provides that a non-designation report must summarize the findings leading to that determination.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Secretary of State, with the Attorney General and Treasury Secretary, to formally review whether the Council on American-Islamic Relations meets foreign terrorist organization designation criteria and report the result to Congress within 90 days.
Key Policy Areas
Foreign Affairs, Counterterrorism, Civil Liberties
Primary Purpose
Requires the Secretary of State, with the Attorney General and Treasury Secretary, to formally review whether the Council on American-Islamic Relations meets foreign terrorist organization designation criteria and report the result to Congress within 90 days.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Pro-Israel advocacy organizations
- Counterterrorism oversight committees
- Federal investigators
- Groups opposing CAIR
Identified Costs
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- Muslim civil-rights advocates
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Fine introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Attorney General, Counterterrorism oversight committees, Secretary of State
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology