H.R. 8236

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8236 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8236

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to list the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations and its chapter affiliates as Specially 
Designated Global Terrorists, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 9, 2026

Mr. Roy (for himself, Mr. Ogles, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, and Mr. 
Norman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to list the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations and its chapter affiliates as Specially 
Designated Global Terrorists, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Designating Hamas Affiliates in 
America Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was 
named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land 
Foundation terrorism financing trial. On appeal, U.S. District 
Court Judge Jorge Solis upheld CAIR's co-conspirator status and 
ruled that the Department of Justice ``produced ample 
evidence'' of CAIR's association with Hamas. Hamas is a U.S. 
designated terrorist organization established with the stated 
goal to destroy Israel and eradicate the Jewish people. On 
October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and 
systematically raped, tortured, and killed innocent civilians, 
leading to a death toll of over 1,200 people, including 
Americans and other nationals, while taking over 240 hostages.
(2) During the Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest 
terror finance case in U.S. history, prosecutors revealed that 
CAIR's founders, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, were part of the 
Islamic Association of Palestine, a Hamas propaganda front that 
raised money for the Holy Land Foundation charity. FBI wiretaps 
revealed that both men were present at a 1993 meeting in 
Philadelphia, where Hamas supporters discussed the need to 
establish a new Hamas front that could disguise its links to 
terrorism.
(3) CAIR was founded a year after the Philadelphia meeting 
with seed money from the Holy Land Foundation charity and 
permission from Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood officials.
(4) The U.S. Treasury Department listed the Holy Land 
Foundation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the 
charity's senior leaders were found guilty of funneling more 
than $12 million to Hamas. Ghassan Elashi, a founding member of 
CAIR's Texas chapter, was found guilty in 2009 of money 
laundering, tax fraud, and providing material support to a 
designated foreign terrorist organization and sentenced to 65 
years in prison.
(5) Ghassan Elashi is one of seven CAIR officials arrested, 
convicted, or deported for terrorism-related crimes, including:
(A) Muthanna al-Hanooti, the founder and director 
of CAIR-Michigan, was convicted in 2011 of violating 
U.S. sanctions against Iraq when he secured the rights 
to 2 million barrels of oil in exchange for assisting 
the Iraqi Government under Saddam Hussein.
(B) Nabil Sadoun, a former Dallas resident and CAIR 
board member, was deported to Jordan in 2010 and denied 
re-entry after the U.S. Government alleged that he lied 
on naturalization documents when he denied membership 
with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
(C) Randall Todd (Ismail) Royer, a CAIR 
communications specialist and civil rights coordinator 
who trained with Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Al Qaeda-linked 
terrorist group, was indicted on charges of assisting 
Al Qaeda in the Taliban's jihadist war against American 
troops in Afghanistan and sentenced to 20 years in 
prison on April 9, 2004.
(D) Abdurahman Alamoudi, the director of CAIR-
Northern Virginia, was sentenced in 2004 to 23-years in 
prison on terrorism-related financial and conspiracy 
charges, including his role in a Libyan government plot 
to assassinate the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
(E) Bassem Khafagi, CAIR's former community affairs 
director, who pleaded guilty in September 2003 to three 
Federal counts of visa and bank fraud and was deported 
to Egypt after he funneled money to support terrorist 
activities and published materials advocating for 
suicide bombings.
(F) Rabih Haddad, a Michigan-based CAIR fundraiser, 
was arrested on terrorism-related charges and deported 
in 2003 for his work as the Executive Director of the 
Global Relief Foundation, a charity that was shut down 
and listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist 
in October 2002 for providing support to Osama Bin 
Laden, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups.
(6) The Governors of Texas and Florida have issued 
executive orders designating CAIR as a terrorist organization 
under state law. Multiple State Legislatures, including 
Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, have passed resolutions 
urging state agencies and law enforcement to suspend contact 
with CAIR due to its alleged affiliations with terrorist 
groups.
(7) The United Arab Emirates, a close Middle Eastern ally, 
designated CAIR as a terrorist entity in 2014 over its alleged 
links to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
(8) The Federal Bureau of Investigation has suspended all 
non-investigative contacts with CAIR due to evidence 
demonstrating a relationship between CAIR and Hamas.
(9) The Anti-Defamation League, a respected Jewish rights 
group, maintains that ``key CAIR leaders often traffic in 
openly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.'' In 2019, 61 
Jewish and pro-Israel organizations endorsed a report referring 
to CAIR as ``a leading voice'' in the antisemtic boycott 
campaign targeting Israel.
(10) Hospitality providers in several states, including 
Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, have 
canceled hotel conferences hosted by CAIR and its partners, 
citing public opposition and reputational risks associated with 
CAIR and its scheduled speakers. In February 2024, U.S. 
Representative Summer Lee withdrew from a CAIR fundraiser in 
Philadelphia after facing an intense backlash related to other 
speakers' antisemtic and homophobic comments.
(11) The Biden Administration publicly disavowed CAIR and 
ended its outreach with the nonprofit after Executive Director 
Nihad Awad told an audience at a Palestine convention that he 
was ``happy to see'' the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.
(12) Zainab Chaudry, Executive Director of CAIR-Maryland, 
was suspended from the state's Commission on Hate Crime 
Response and Prevention for social media posts comparing Israel 
to Nazi Germany and accusing Israelis of harvesting the corpses 
of dead Palestinians. Chaudry's replacement on the hate crimes 
panel, Aymen Nasser--who was also a member of CAIR's Maryland 
chapter--was forced to resign for antisemtic and homophobic 
social media posts. In response, the Maryland General Assembly 
passed legislation banning private organizations like CAIR from 
serving on the Commission.
(13) Zahra Billoo, the leader of CAIR's San Francisco Bay 
Area branch, publicly mourned the death of Hamas commander 
Ismail Haniyeh following his July 31, 2024, assassination in 
the Iranian capital of Tehran, declaring ``his martyrdom is not 
in vain.'' During a 2021 speech to radical anti-Israel 
activists, Billoo encouraged the audience to ``pay attention to 
the polite Zionists'' and Jewish community groups that seek to 
``break bread'' with their Muslim neighbors.
(14) Designating entities as Specially Designated Global 
Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224 (September 23, 
2001) allows the United States to block assets and prohibit 
transactions to disrupt terrorist financing and activities.
(15) Such designations are necessary to protect national 
security interests by preventing support for terrorism under 
the guise of civil rights advocacy.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION AS A SPECIALLY DESIGNATED GLOBAL TERRORIST.

(a) Designation.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, shall designate 
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as ``CAIR''), including all its chapters, affiliates, and 
successors, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to 
section 1 of Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 
blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, 
threaten to commit, or support terrorism).
(b) Actions Required.--Upon designation under subsection (a)--
(1) all assets of CAIR within the jurisdiction of the 
United States shall be blocked;
(2) no United States person (as defined in section 594.315 
of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding 
similar regulation or ruling)) may engage in any transaction 
with CAIR; and
(3) CAIR shall be added to the Specially Designated 
Nationals and Blocked Persons List maintained by the Office of 
Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury.
(c) Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status.--Pursuant to section 501(p) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(p)), the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall suspend the tax-exempt status under section 
501(c)(3) of such Code (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) of CAIR, including all its 
chapters and affiliates.

SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the 
Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress--
(1) a detailed report of CAIR, including the criteria met 
for designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist set 
forth in U.S. Executive Order 13224; and
(2) If the Secretary determines that CAIR does not meet the 
criteria set forth under such Specially Designated Global 
Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, a detailed 
justification as to which criteria have not been met.
(b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall--
(1) be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
classified annex; and
(2) be made available only in electronic form and shall not 
be printed, except if a printed copy is requested by an office 
of the legislative branch.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security, 
and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House 
of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Select 
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
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