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Tag: Adrian Garcia

  • CAIR Will Continue Civil Rights Work Despite Abbott’s Terrorism Declaration [UPDATE] – Houston Press

    Editor’s Note: The Muslim Legal Fund of America and the CAIR Legal Defense Fund announced Thursday that they have filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton to block enforcement of Abbott’s “unconstitutional and defamatory” November 18 proclamation, which they say falsely declared the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations a “foreign terrorist organization” and threatened various civil penalties against the civil rights organization if it continues to serve the people of Texas.

    Original story:

    Being Muslim doesn’t make one a terrorist, but that didn’t stop Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from condemning two prominent civil rights groups this week, prompting an immediate response from one that the allegations are defamatory and have no basis in law or fact. 

    Abbott issued a proclamation on Tuesday designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations. This designation authorizes heightened enforcement against both groups and their affiliates and prohibits them from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas, according to a press release. 

    The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have “long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” Abbott said in a statement. 

    “The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable,” he said. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”

    It’s an unusual move on Abbott’s part, since, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, only the U.S. secretary of state can officially designate foreign terrorist organizations following consultation with the attorney general and treasury secretary.

    The impact of the action by Abbott is limited to Texas law enforcement and authorizes the state attorney general to sue organizations deemed affiliated with CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood, the Guardian reported this week.

    In his proclamation, Abbott referenced comments by Muslim Brotherhood founders that supported “fighting of the non-believers.” The governor also cited that Hamas, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, orchestrated a 2023 terrorist attack in Israel in which nearly 400 people were killed. 

    Abbott said he targeted CAIR because the organization was named in 2007 as having ties to the Holy Land Foundation, a group that was shut down for sending millions of dollars to Hamas. CAIR has denied the allegations and was not indicted. 

    Habiba Noor, a lecturer at Trinity University, told the Texas Tribune this week that Abbott is using an “Islamophobic toolbox” to rehash conspiracy theories in an effort to criminalize Muslims. One such conspiracy theory, the lecturer said, is that CAIR is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. 

    CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, responded by saying in a letter that Abbott didn’t have the authority to unilaterally declare Americans or American institutions terrorist groups. 

    CAIR Texas said its civil rights work would continue undeterred. A spokesperson for CAIR Houston did not immediately respond to voicemails and emails seeking comment on Wednesday. 

    “Greg Abbott is an Israel First politician who has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government,” CAIR National said in a statement. “Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas. His latest publicity stunt has no basis in fact or law, nor can it stop our civil rights work.”

    At press time, the Muslim Brotherhood had not issued a response to Abbott’s proclamation. In 2015, the group was banned in Egypt, where it was founded, and declared a terrorist organization. The Muslim Brotherhood supports charitable causes and has said that its aim is the establishment of a state ruled by Sharia law. 

    Sharia is an Islamic legal and moral code that serves as a path for Muslims to live according to God’s will, as derived from the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. 

    And that’s a problem for Abbott, who, one day after designating the Muslim groups as terrorists, called for an investigation into “possible criminal violations by Sharia tribunals masquerading as legal courts and … purporting to enforce Sharia law” in Collin and Dallas counties. 

    Texas Republicans, including Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have attempted for months to thwart the construction of a 400-acre Muslim community called EPIC City near Plano, calling it a “Sharia compound.” 

    Abbott signed a bill into law in September prohibiting “residential property developments like EPIC City from creating Sharia compounds and defrauding and discriminating against Texans.” No evidence has been produced that the organizers of EPIC City, which would include 1,000 residential units, a school and a mosque, intended to operate under Sharia law. 

    The project appears to be on hold because of numerous legal challenges and state investigations.

    Harris County commissioners Rodney Ellis, Adrian Garcia and Lesley Briones jumped into the fray late Tuesday evening, issuing a statement that Abbott’s proclamation against the Muslim organizations “is a reckless action that fuels fear and runs contrary to Harris County’s success as the country’s most diverse metro area. It also has no basis in the law.”

    “Harris County has thrived as a welcoming place for all. People come here from around the world,” the three Democratic commissioners said in a joint statement. “Not only do we contribute to their success, but they contribute to ours. We all work together to build a safe, prosperous community. The governor’s rhetoric fractures community trust and undermines the safety and cohesion that government is meant to protect.”

    Numerous elected officials from Houston and Harris County attended a Muslim celebration to break fast at the end of Ramadan this year. Credit: Daniel J. Cohen

    Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, who is competing in a January runoff election to fill the unexpired term of the late Sylvester Turner in U.S. Congressional District 18, said Abbott’s announcement was discriminatory and unconstitutional. 

    “He’s putting entire communities at risk by spreading fear instead of facts,” Menefee said in a statement. “Governor Abbott is again breaking down the trust we need to keep our neighborhoods stable. I denounce his decision and call on him to reverse it.” 

    In its response to Abbott, CAIR National said that the governor’s office has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government. The organization said it plans to continue opposing all forms of bigotry, speaking out against injustice and defending the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech. 

    CAIR has previously taken legal action against the state, most recently last year in defense of anti-genocide protesters at the University of Houston and University of Texas at Dallas. 

    “We have successfully sued you three different times for shredding the First Amendment for the benefit of the Israeli government, and we are ready to do so again if you attempt to turn this publicity stunt into actual policy,” the statement reads, in a direct message to Abbott. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

    April Towery

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  • Harris County Wants $7 Billion Solar Program Restored – Houston Press

    Since Donald Trump took office in January, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has sued the federal government four times, saying Tuesday that it’s the only way to get the attention of an administration that has repeatedly, illegally, broken promises to low-income Texans. 

    Menefee announced this week that he filed the latest lawsuit in federal court demanding that the $7 billion Solar for All program be reinstated. The grant would have offered $59 million to Harris County, the largest Solar for All award in the nation. Earlier this year, the county attorney filed two lawsuits against the federal government related to healthcare funding and one to challenge federal workforce layoffs. 

    “In the two that were about money, we’re 2 and 0,” Menefee told the Houston Press on Tuesday. “Over the refugee health funds, the funding was restored. Over the public health funds in the wake of COVID-19, the funding was restored. In the federal layoffs case we got a temporary injunction that blocked the federal government from continuing the layoffs. That went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which eliminated the injunction.” 

    “In many instances, with the Trump administration, the left hand has no clue what the right hand is doing,” he added. “They’ll eliminate funding; they will get rid of programs; they will temporarily freeze programs. It is 100 percent illegal, and they’re not truly made aware of that until they’re hauled in front of a judge and they have to answer for what they’ve done.” 

    Menefee’s latest action is an effort to salvage about $250 million that was awarded to the nonpartisan Texas Solar for All Coalition, designed to lower electricity bills, create clean energy jobs, and expand access to affordable solar power across disadvantaged communities. 

    Grant recipients would have had their energy bills slashed by about $500 per year, and the funding would have covered solar and battery installation for thousands of residents in neighborhoods that experience blackouts and high heat, said Menefee, who is running for U.S. Congressional District 18 in November. 

    The Solar for All program was approved as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. The federal government rescinded the grant — illegally, according to Menefee — in August of this year, saying the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” eliminated the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority and funding for the program. 

    Menefee said Congress created the program and promised funding to local governments and families across the country. They can’t just walk it back, he said. 

    “This isn’t just another policy disagreement,” he said. “It’s a clear-cut case of federal overreach, an illegal attempt to cancel a program that Congress already appropriated the funds for. They never supported this program, so they made up a justification for killing it.”

    U.S. Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, said at a Monday press conference that work had already started in the communities that were awarded Solar for All grants when the funds were rescinded. 

    “In Houston, Port Arthur and Waco, training programs were already underway to certify Texans in solar installation and energy efficiency,” Fletcher said. “The coalition had already begun building resilience hubs, community centers, and homes equipped with solar and battery backup to keep the lights on during hurricanes or potential grid failures. For communities like ours along the Gulf Coast, these hubs mean the difference between safety and suffering in the next storm.” 

    The Solar For All program would have offered measurable savings for families that have trouble paying the bills, “especially in times like these when prices are going up because of other terrible policies implemented by the Trump administration,” the congresswoman added.  

    When the cuts were announced, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called programs like Solar for All “a grift and a boondoggle,” citing a need for environmental regulation. About 90 percent of the EPA workforce has been furloughed during the government shutdown that began October 1, so it’s unclear whether a response to Harris County’s lawsuit will be forthcoming. 

    Menefee told the Press on Tuesday that the lawsuit and media events aren’t part of a symbolic pep rally; the goal is to get the funds reinstated. 

    “We want a ruling that the EPA’s decision violates the law,” he said. “We’re taking action to ensure that the courts hold the federal government accountable. The elimination of this program is illegal .My hope is that the court requires the EPA to reinstate the program.” 

    Hundreds of applications were submitted for the competitive program, and several county leaders worked to ensure that Harris County got a cut. The grant would have assisted more than 28,000 families across Texas and about 10,000 in Harris County. 

    Harris County families and neighborhoods had not yet been identified as funding recipients, Menefee said, but the program was widely publicized. 

    “Folks very much knew that Harris County had been awarded this grant and we were going to, with federal dollars, make a deep investment in lowering people’s bills,” he said. “There were not specific individuals who were expecting they were going to get the money but certainly the community at large expected this money to come.” 

    Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner Adrian Garcia attended the press conference this week and detailed the rigorous grant application process for the solar program. 

    “Generating more electricity is not part of a political agenda, power is not partisan, and fuel for our first responders should not be controversial,” Garcia said. “We need to produce more energy to sustain the growth across Texas, and I hope the courts will see it this way too.”

    Hidalgo said the grant wasn’t just going to help Harris County families; it was going to boost infrastructure for natural disasters. 

    “There’s a saying in emergency management that there are two kinds of generators: the kind that start and fail and the kind that never start,” she said. “We were working based on that premise and developing hubs that would have their own ability to produce solar energy, their own microgrid, so if the grid failed, they could still have power.”

    Menefee said he hopes Harris County will get a response from the government within 60 days. 

    “This is about more than one grant,” Menefee said. “It’s about good government. The federal government made a promise to local communities. We did our part, and now Washington has to hold up its end of the deal.” 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

    April Towery

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