HOUSTON – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has designated four organizations or organization categories as foreign terrorist or transnational criminal groups under state authority.
The proclamations and executive orders, issued between 2022 and 2025, allow Texas officials to apply enhanced enforcement measures and block the listed groups and their affiliates from acquiring real property in Texas.
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This will prohibit the groups and their affiliates from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas.
In his recent announcement, Abbott said the designation reflects concerns about alleged support for terrorism and efforts to undermine legal systems.
The state designation marks the first time Texas has applied these restrictions to either organization. According to the governor’s office, the decision will take effect immediately and applies to any real property interests within Texas.
Here is the full list:
Muslim Brotherhood
Designation date: Nov. 18, 2025
Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal organization, prohibiting the group or its affiliates from acquiring any real-property interests in Texas.
His proclamation cites concerns about alleged extremist networks tied to the group.
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Designation date: Nov. 18, 2025
In the same proclamation as the Muslim Brotherhood, Abbott labeled CAIR a foreign terrorist organization under Texas law.
The designation immediately barred CAIR and its affiliates from purchasing land or other real-property interests in the state. CAIR denies wrongdoing.
CAIR sent Abbott a formal response letter, condemning his recent proclamation, stating the proclamation does not “the authority to unilaterally declare any Americans or American institutions terrorist groups.”
The letter further states that “CAIR is an independent American nonprofit organization that operates in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws” and that CAIR “is not - and has never been - a member, chapter, offshoot, or affiliate of any foreign organization.”
The letter documents CAIR’s thirty-year record of condemning and advocating against: “anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and antisemitism, as well as all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and terrorism.”
Addressing the Governor directly, CAIR writes that his office “has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government,” adding that “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.”
CAIR concludes its letter by reaffirming that it “plans to continue opposing all forms of bigotry, speaking out against injustice here and abroad, and defending the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech, God willing.”
CAIR noted that this is not the first time Greg Abbott has tried and failed to use state law to smear Muslim nonprofit organizations in the statement.
Tren de Aragua (TdA)
Designation date: Sept. 16, 2024
Abbott designated the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, citing what he described as violent criminal operations extending across multiple countries. The proclamation granted state agencies added authority to investigate and target affiliates operating in Texas.
Mexican drug cartels (Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG and similar groups)
Designation date: Sept. 21, 2022
Abbott issued an executive order naming the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and “any similarly situated Mexican drug cartels” as foreign terrorist organizations.
The order directed state agencies to combat cartel activity and coordinate with federal and local partners.