By The Middle East Forum

Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) has introduced a bill backed by the Middle East Forum (MEF) to designate the Hamas-aligned Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.

Roy’s legislation represents the most serious congressional effort to designate CAIR to date and follows decades of MEF research and activism aimed at exposing CAIR’s extremism and links to foreign terrorist organizations.

“The Designating Hamas Affiliates in America Act of 2026” directs the Secretary of the Treasury to designate CAIR as a terrorist entity, blocking its assets, revoking its tax-exempt status, and banning U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with it.

If passed, the legislation would effectively force CAIR to cease operations and dissolve for being one of Hamas’s most prolific advocates in the Western world.

The bill’s findings meticulously chronicle CAIR’s history of extremism, delivering a comprehensive and legally grounded account of the nonprofit’s links to global terrorism.

It documents CAIR’s establishment as a public relations front for Hamas and its status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial (2007–2008), in which founding board member of CAIR’s Texas chapter, Ghassan Elashi, was sentenced to 65 years in prison for funneling over $12 million to Hamas.

Roy’s legislation also documents U.S. government actions to isolate and suspend law enforcement contact with CAIR. In 2023, the Biden administration publicly disavowed the organization after CAIR founder and executive director Nihad Awad declared that he was “happy to see” Palestinians “breaking the siege” on October 7 in Israel and referred to Gaza as a “concentration camp.”

Recent moves to designate CAIR, including a congressional bill and state-level executive orders in Texas and Florida, were legally imprecise and have faced legal challenges.

They sought to designate CAIR as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a status that applies to overseas groups involved in acts of violence.

Roy’s bill, which applies civil penalties to organizations that support terrorism, aligns most closely with federal statute and legal precedent and has the best chance of surviving judicial review.

As the co-chair of the Sharia-Free America Caucus in the House of Representatives, Roy is spearheading congressional efforts to protect Western civilization from Islamist threats.

The 60-member caucus has launched committee hearings and dedicated time on the House floor to name the threat of radical Islam and adopt legislative solutions.

“With the introduction of this bill, we finally have a realistic pathway to designating CAIR as a terrorist group,” said Benjamin Baird, director of MEF Action.

“This legislation builds directly on years of documented evidence and shifts from symbolic gestures to enforceable action that can finally dismantle CAIR’s operations in America.”

Founded in 1994—the same year as CAIR—MEF has systematically exposed CAIR’s origins as a Hamas front, spoiling its relationship with government officials and corporate partners.

MEF’s investigations and grassroots activism have resulted in canceled conferences, rescinded government recognition, and revoked public appointments for the Hamas-aligned Islamist group.

“After three decades of exposing CAIR’s deep ties to Hamas and its campaign of deception, this bill marks the decisive moment we’ve been fighting for,” said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum.

“Congress now has the tools to strip away CAIR’s legitimacy, revoke its taxpayer-funded privileges, and finally dismantle one of the most effective Islamist influence operations in America.”

MEF continues to work with the White House, Congress, and state governments to identify terror-aligned groups and recommend policy solutions to shut down their operations.