Declaring the Council on American-Islamic Relations unwelcome at the Texas Capitol.

89(R) HR 971 - Introduced version - Bill Text

89R26820 JH-F

By: Patterson

H.R. No. 971

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The State of Texas is proud of its diverse

communities built on shared values of liberty, faith, and

patriotism; and

WHEREAS, All communities are important to Texas, and we honor

those who contribute to the strength, culture, and prosperity of

our state; and

WHEREAS, The Council on American-Islamic Relations has been

credibly linked to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the

Muslim Brotherhood, both enemies of the United States and threats

to our way of life; CAIR's leadership has openly praised acts of

terror, defended violence against innocent civilians, and shown

contempt for American allies such as Israel; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation has suspended

all formal contacts with the Council on American-Islamic Relations

due to evidence demonstrating a relationship between CAIR and

Hamas; Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by

the United States Department of State and perpetrated the brutal

attack on the State of Israel on October 7, 2023, in which Hamas

indiscriminately killed more than 1,200 innocent people, including

Israelis, Americans, and other nationals, and took more than 240

civilians as hostages; and

WHEREAS, In the federal criminal prosecutions of persons

involved with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development,

the largest successful prosecution of terrorism financing in our

country's history, CAIR was identified as an associate of the

Muslim Brotherhood and was named an unindicted co-conspirator in

the trial; and

WHEREAS, Soon after opening its first office in Washington,

D.C., CAIR received a grant from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief

and Development, a charitable organization that was closed and was

designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United

States Department of the Treasury for funding jihadist terrorist

organizations; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, Ghassan Elashi, who was a member of the

founding board of directors of the Texas branch of CAIR and a leader

of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, was

sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison after being convicted of

10 counts of conspiracy to provide, and the provision of, material

support to a designated foreign terrorist organization as well as

numerous other charges; and

WHEREAS, Randall Todd Royer, also known as Ismail Royer, who

served as a communications specialist and civil rights coordinator

for CAIR, trained with and set up an Internet-based newsletter for

Lashkar-e-Taiba, an al Qaeda-tied Kashmir organization that is

listed on the United States Department of State's international

terror list; he was also indicted on charges of conspiring to help

al Qaeda and the Taliban battle American troops fighting in

Afghanistan and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 9,

2004; and

WHEREAS, In September 2003, CAIR's former community affairs

director, Bassem Khafagi, pleaded guilty to three federal counts of

bank and visa fraud and agreed to be deported to Egypt after he had

funneled money to activities supporting terrorism and had published

material advocating suicide attacks against the United States,

illegal activities that took place while he was employed by CAIR;

and

WHEREAS, Rabih Haddad, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based CAIR

fundraiser, was arrested on terrorism-related charges and was

deported from the United States due to his work as Executive

Director of the Global Relief Foundation, which in October 2002 was

closed by the United States Department of the Treasury for

financing al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations; and

WHEREAS, It is a dangerous affront to the people of Texas to

allow any group that supports, sympathizes with, or excuses

terrorism to be welcomed or honored within the halls of our Capitol;

just as the Texas Capitol would never open its doors to groups such

as the Ku Klux Klan, to drug cartels, or to any other group that

promotes hatred and violence, it must not and will not open its

doors to CAIR; the ongoing Islamification of American communities

through extremist organizations represents one of the most urgent

cultural and security challenges facing our state today; and

WHEREAS, Texas has always stood firmly against enemies

foreign and domestic, rejecting any group that seeks to undermine

the Constitution, erode our freedoms, or endanger our families, and

it will never tolerate, support, or honor organizations aligned

with terrorism, hatred, or the enemies of the United States; now,

therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas

Legislature hereby declare the Council on American-Islamic

Relations unwelcome at the Texas Capitol.