Overview
- Paxton filed an official court response denying the Texas CAIR chapters’ claims, seeking dismissal on sovereign‑immunity grounds and arguing the case shows no concrete enforcement harm.
- The filing contends federal court is not the proper venue for a state proclamation and frames the dispute as a political question outside judicial resolution.
- CAIR’s Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin chapters say the order chills speech and association, request an injunction and damages, and argue the state cannot label a U.S. nonprofit a terrorist group without due process.
- Abbott’s Nov. 18 proclamation designates CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood under Texas law and bars them from acquiring land, though Paxton says no action has been taken against the local chapters.
- Related moves include Florida issuing a similar designation and President Trump initiating a federal review of certain Muslim Brotherhood entities, while Abbott’s request to Treasury to review CAIR’s tax‑exempt status remains unresolved.