United Voices for America said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attempt to label a Muslim civil rights organization as a “foreign terrorist organization” raises serious constitutional concerns and threatens basic due process protections.
The governor’s action targets the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has announced plans to challenge the designation in court. United Voices emphasized that under U.S. law, states do not have the authority to create their own terrorism designations outside the federal statutory framework.
“The Constitution does not permit a governor to declare political opponents or advocacy organizations to be terrorists by proclamation,” United Voices said. “If an organization is accused of criminal conduct, it must be charged under existing law and afforded due process in a court of law. Anything short of that is intimidation.”
United Voices noted that federal law establishes clear procedures for terrorist designations through the U.S. Department of State, with judicial review mechanisms. A unilateral state-level declaration attempting to override that framework undermines constitutional structure and the separation of powers.
The organization warned that allowing elected officials to weaponize national security language against domestic civil society groups would set a dangerous precedent, particularly for minority and dissenting communities.
Background reporting on related legal challenges can be found here: federal lawsuit challenging a similar proclamation in Texas.
United Voices: States Cannot Invent Their Own ‘Terror Lists’ to Target Civil Rights Groups
United Voices for America said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attempt to label a Muslim civil rights organization as a “foreign terrorist organization” raises serious constitutional concerns and threatens basic due process protections.
The governor’s action targets the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has announced plans to challenge the designation in court. United Voices emphasized that under U.S. law, states do not have the authority to create their own terrorism designations outside the federal statutory framework.
“The Constitution does not permit a governor to declare political opponents or advocacy organizations to be terrorists by proclamation,” United Voices said. “If an organization is accused of criminal conduct, it must be charged under existing law and afforded due process in a court of law. Anything short of that is intimidation.”
United Voices noted that federal law establishes clear procedures for terrorist designations through the U.S. Department of State, with judicial review mechanisms. A unilateral state-level declaration attempting to override that framework undermines constitutional structure and the separation of powers.
The organization warned that allowing elected officials to weaponize national security language against domestic civil society groups would set a dangerous precedent, particularly for minority and dissenting communities.
Background reporting on related legal challenges can be found here: federal lawsuit challenging a similar proclamation in Texas.