In a recent court filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton contended that Governor Greg Abbott’s designation of a national Muslim civil rights organization as a “foreign terrorist organization” does not extend to its local chapters in Texas. This assertion was made in response to a federal lawsuit initiated by the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin branches of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was filed shortly after Abbott made his controversial declaration.
Paxton’s legal argument maintains that the lawsuit lacks merit, primarily because the proclamation was aimed at CAIR’s national organization, which he describes as a distinct legal entity from the local chapters in Texas. He stated, “Radical Islamist terrorist groups are anti-American, and the infiltration of these dangerous individuals into Texas must be stopped. My office will continue to defend the Governor’s lawful, accurate declaration that CAIR is an FTO, as well as Texas’s right to protect itself from organizations with documented ties to foreign extremist movements.”
KERA News has reached out to CAIR’s Texas chapters for their response and will provide updates as information becomes available.
Furthermore, Paxton argues that the local chapters lack standing to sue since there has been no legal action initiated by the attorney general regarding Abbott’s designation. He also claims sovereign immunity from the lawsuit, referencing the Eleventh Amendment.
