Civil Rights and Litigation

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation labeling the Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations — a state‑level designation that does not carry federal foreign terrorist organization penalties. CAIR’s Dallas‑Fort Worth and Austin chapters have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the order as unconstitutional and say it unlawfully bars CAIR from certain land purchases under a new statute, while Muslim, interfaith and political leaders have called the move defamatory and urged Abbott to rescind it.