AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a proclamation designating two Muslim advocacy groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
His proclamation was released at the same time he was on stage speaking before a business conference in San Antonio.
What we know:
The proclamation designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as foreign terrorist organizations.
READ MORE: Texas Governor Abbott bans Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR from owning land in Texas
The proclamation cites new Texas laws, including one that allows for enhanced sentences for those convicted of extreme crimes and another that prevents land purchases by people linked to unfriendly countries.
Constitutional law attorney on the proclamation
What they’re saying:
“My first reaction to it was there’s a lot of smoke but not very much fire,” said Dallas constitutional law attorney David Coale.
Foreign policy — like immigration law, according to Coale — is a role typically reserved for the federal government.
“So, when a state says we’re going to do foreign policy stuff and declare an organization to be a terrorist group, you wonder what’s the practical effect of that? And the answer, I think, is not very much,” said Coale.
“States can regulate property sales in their borders, more or less, but when they start regulating in the name of foreign policy, well, even that may be preempted. But that’s probably in the safe zone for something that the governor can act on, the state government can act on,” added Coale.
The fight could end up being fought in a courtroom.
“One man’s innocent bystander is another man’s, you know, wrongdoer,” noted Coale.
CAIR has several college campus organizations across Texas. Coale said it’s possible an attempt could be made to shut them down with the Governor’s proclamation.
“There can be, as a result of this designation, all manner of investigations and inquiries and subpoenas in the name of enforcing these laws. That I think will draw litigation back from CAIR where they say this isn’t fair and we have a First Amendment right to speak our minds and so on and so forth,” said Coale.
A heavy-handed enforcement could become a legal slippery slope.
“I think that’s the trick here is how vigorously is this going to be enforced and will the enforcement itself begin to raise a constitutional question,” said Coale.
CAIR’s response to Abbott’s proclamation
What they’re saying:
In a statement sent to FOX 7 Austin, officials with CAIR said in part;
“Although we are flattered by Greg Abbott’s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law. By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas. The truth is that Mr. Abbott is an Israel First politician who has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government.”
Robert McCaw, director of government affairs for CAIR, also sent a formal response letter to Abbott. In it, he called the proclamation a political stunt and promised to file a lawsuit to block it from being used.
The Source: Information in the report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski