[ November 15, 2026 ]
Imagine, this is her first order of business.
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa plans to reverse the Texas terrorist and transnational criminal organization designation placed on the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Key Details:
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- The Plan: Hinojosa has vowed to remove the state-level terror label applied to CAIR by executive action. [1, 2]\
- Background of the Designation: On November 18, 2025, outgoing Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation designating CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations under Texas law, which included restrictions such as blocking them from acquiring land in Texas.[1, 2, 3]
- Election Context: During the 2026 gubernatorial race, Abbott’s campaign heavily criticized Hinojosa—who had previously voted against Senate Bill 1900 and received a voter guide endorsement from CAIR Action—accusing her of supporting Sharia law. Hinojosa rejected these accusations, stating she supports Texas and American law. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Scope of Reversal: According to reporting by The Dallas Express, Hinojosa’s planned reversal targets CAIR’s designation, though initial reports indicate it does not address the separate designation of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Related: Texas Dems to Tackle ‘Affordability’ with Muslim Heritage Day
Hinojosa Vows To Strip CAIR’s Texas Terror Label
Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa’s (D) plan to remove CAIR’s Texas terrorist designation would withdraw an executive finding the state has used to support its enforcement campaign. Her pledge alone does not repeal the laws behind land restrictions, criminal investigations and civil enforcement.
Hinojosa plans to reverse the designation, The Washington Post reported in a November 14 interview. The report does not establish that she also plans to remove the Muslim Brotherhood’s designation.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) November 18, 2025, proclamation took two distinct steps against the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood: It designated them as foreign terrorist organizations under Texas criminal law and separately as transnational criminal organizations under the state’s property law.
Abbott cited the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case, including the conviction of Ghassan Elashi, whom the proclamation identifies as a founding board member of CAIR’s Texas branch. The federal record includes convictions, court findings and FBI restrictions that predate Abbott’s action.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Holy Land Foundation record
The U.S. Treasury designated the Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on December 4, 2001, and ordered its assets blocked. A federal jury convicted the charity and five leaders in November 2008 of providing material support to Hamas.
The Justice Department’s account of the case said the defendants provided approximately $12.4 million in support to Hamas. U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis sentenced Elashi to 65 years in prison on May 27, 2009.
Federal prosecutors named CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in 2007. In a July 1, 2009, order, Solis found “ample evidence” of CAIR’s associations with the Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine and Hamas. He noted that the evidence largely predated the foundation’s 2001 designation.
The order cited a July 1994 meeting agenda listing CAIR among the working organizations of the Palestine Committee, whose creation the Muslim Brotherhood supervised. Solis declined to strike CAIR’s name from the list, but ordered the list sealed, finding that prosecutors should not have published it. Prosecutors did not charge CAIR in that case; the listing was not a federal terrorist designation.
A 2013 Justice Department inspector general report documented the FBI’s 2008 policy restricting non-investigative contacts with CAIR following the case. CAIR denies supporting terrorism and challenged Abbott’s proclamation in court. A Texas rescission would not overturn the federal convictions or erase the court record.
The land restriction requires its own decision
Texas’ property law expressly authorizes the governor to remove an entity’s land-purchase designation. The statute requires consultation with the Department of Public Safety director and the Homeland Security Council.
If Hinojosa removes CAIR’s property designation, that change would eliminate that particular ground for barring future acquisitions, subject to any other applicable restriction or court order. Simply withdrawing the terrorist label would not necessarily accomplish that.
ADVERTISEMENTThe statute makes removal prospective. It applies to acquisitions on or after the removal’s effective date, rather than automatically clearing earlier transactions. Texas would retain the underlying law, including restrictions arising from other designated entities or countries.
The law also contains exceptions for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and certain entities they own or control. It does not impose a blanket land ban on Muslims or everyone who supports CAIR.
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