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(WND NEWS CENTER) As revealed in a recent report published by the Middle East Forum, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR – the supposedly moderate U.S.-based Muslim advocacy group whose leader openly praised Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis – has repeatedly worked to obstruct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, encouraging noncitizens to defy immigration enforcement.
WorldNetDaily spoke to Anna Stanley, a research associate at the Middle East Forum, who authored “Islamists Obstruct Efforts to Deport Criminal Aliens.” She pointed out that CAIR “distributes guidance on how to avoid compliance, advising individuals to stay silent and refuse to open their doors to immigration agents to stall or prevent deportation.”
In addition, she said, CAIR actively campaigns against ICE operations and lobbies for policies that weaken enforcement efforts. A recent CAIR-Ohio “Community Alert” lays out a detailed strategy for evading ICE, instructing: “Do not allow entry and … refuse to answer questions,” directly interfering with the agency’s ability to carry out its legal mandate.
CAIR also claims that “ICE may use tricks, lies, or intimidation to gain entry,” noted Stanley. “Because administrative immigration warrants do not give ICE the legal authority to enter private property without consent – unlike criminal warrants – agents sometimes rely on deceptive tactics to make arrests, a practice codified in ICE policy,” she explained. “By promoting noncompliance with lawful enforcement,” she argued, “CAIR actively undermines immigration law and impedes the work of federal authorities.”
Disturbingly, revealed Stanley, “CAIR tailors its messaging toward the very individuals ICE prioritizes for enforcement, including those who are in the country illegally, have criminal convictions, face prior deportation orders, or are deemed national security threats.” What’s more, she said, “CAIR’s use of the phrase ‘noncitizens who have violated the terms of their immigration status’ as a euphemism for illegal immigrants reflects its political stance on the issue, downplaying the legal reality of unlawful presence.”
“By encouraging noncompliance among these groups,” Stanley added, “CAIR risks shielding individuals who could pose a danger to the public and obstructing lawful immigration enforcement.” Which begs the question, “Why should an organization that so openly advises against cooperation with U.S. law enforcement be allowed to operate without consequences?”
ICE’s response, said Stanley, rightly highlights the dangerous consequences of efforts to obstruct immigration enforcement. “By spreading misinformation and actively encouraging noncompliance,” she suggested, “CAIR is not just undermining the rule of law – it is jeopardizing public safety.”
ICE’s mission is clear: to enforce immigration laws and remove individuals who pose a risk, including criminals and national security threats. “When organizations like CAIR encourage defiance and spread misleading narratives,” she warned, “they create unnecessary confrontations that endanger both law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.”
For Stanley, “ICE officials are correct in warning that such actions can fuel hostility and even violence, making their already difficult job even more dangerous.” Rather than hindering lawful enforcement, she said, groups that claim to support public safety should be working to uphold the law, not protect those who break it.
“Law enforcement should view CAIR’s efforts as a direct attempt to obstruct federal immigration enforcement and weaken national security,” she said. By advising noncitizens – many of whom are in the country illegally – to evade ICE, CAIR is not acting as a civil rights group, as it postures, but as an organization actively working against U.S. law enforcement, she explained. “This kind of interference not only undermines the rule of law, but also puts officers, communities, and even the individuals CAIR claims to protect at risk.”
There should be clear policies in place that penalize organizations like CAIR that deliberately encourage noncompliance with federal law, she said. “No group should be allowed to operate with impunity while obstructing lawful enforcement efforts and shielding individuals who may pose security risks.”
“Federal, state and local authorities must recognize the danger of allowing such actions to go unchecked and implement measures that hold these groups accountable for their role in undermining immigration enforcement,” she added.
“CAIR’s open defiance of immigration enforcement is not just a policy stance – it is a direct challenge to the authority of federal law,” Stanley said. “No organization should be allowed to instruct individuals on how to evade deportation, especially when it involves criminals and potential national security threats.”
If the U.S. is serious about upholding its immigration laws and protecting its citizens, she concluded, it must take action against groups that actively obstruct enforcement efforts: “Lawmakers and law enforcement agencies must ensure that organizations working against federal authorities face real consequences for their actions.”
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The Council on American Islamic Relations. CAIR, often uncritically quoted by news media as a civil rights group, is a Muslim Brotherhood spin-off. The Brotherhood, born in Egypt in 1928 with an anti-Western, anti-Jewish and anti-secular ideology, has been the mothership of many Sunni terrorist groups. As for CAIR itself, it was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2009 federal Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development retrial, in which the foundation was convicted of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas. Five men received prison terms, including Ghassan Elashi, a founder of CAIR’s Texas chapter, who got 65 years.