The bill expedites federal authority to designate and freeze assets to address perceived terrorist risks and increases congressional oversight, but it also risks chilling civil liberties, disrupting services relied on by vulnerable communities, prompting litigation and costs, and producing rushed or less-useful intelligence assessments.
All U.S. persons and the federal government: Gives authorities power to block or freeze CAIR-related U.S. assets and transactions to prevent funds the government believes could support terrorist activity.
Federal agencies and state/local governments: Establishes a clearer, standardized legal mechanism (using SDGT designation tools) to identify and act against alleged terrorist sponsors, reducing reliance on ad hoc state or local measures.
Congress and the public: Requires a timely, unified assessment (30-day report) on whether CAIR meets designation criteria and makes the unclassified main report publicly accessible, improving congressional oversight and transparency about potential terrorist designations.
Muslim, Arab American, and related communities: Designation and related publicity could chill free association and civic advocacy, stigmatize a major civil‑rights organization, and reduce civic participation among affected communities.
CAIR staff, chapters, affiliates, and clients (including immigrants): Freezing U.S. bank accounts and barring transactions would disrupt operations and lawful services (legal help, civil-rights advocacy), harming people who rely on those services.
Donors, partner nonprofits, and taxpayers: Donations and partner activities could face criminal or civil penalties and loss of charitable deductions; the measure also risks litigation and diplomatic consequences that impose legal costs on the government.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Directs Treasury, after consulting State and DOJ, to designate CAIR and affiliates as an SDGT, block their U.S. assets, bar U.S. transactions, add them to OFAC lists, and suspend their 501(c)(3) status.
Introduced April 9, 2026 by Charles Roy · Last progress April 9, 2026
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, after consulting the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and all its chapters and affiliates as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224. The designation would block CAIR’s property in U.S. jurisdiction, bar U.S. persons from transacting with CAIR, add CAIR to OFAC’s sanctions list, and direct suspension of its federal tax-exempt status. The bill also orders a detailed interagency report to Congress within 30 days assessing whether CAIR meets the legal criteria for SDGT designation, permitting an unclassified report with a classified annex. The bill’s findings list past prosecutions, state executive actions, foreign designations, and other controversies as reasons the designation is needed for national security. It mandates rapid administrative action by Treasury, State, and Justice Department officials and creates legal and enforcement consequences for CAIR, donors, and U.S. persons who would otherwise engage with the organization.