New report says CAIR provided $1k checks, other aid to pro-Palestine campus protesters
A new report alleges the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s California organization (CAIR-California) has funneled financial and material support to pro-Palestine campus activists.
Lawmakers have urged federal investigators to probe CAIR’s alleged ties to extremist groups as the organization expands its political and legal involvement on college campuses.
A new report alleges the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s California organization (CAIR-California) has funneled financial and material support to pro-Palestine campus activists.
The study was conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN). The findings appear in a lengthy analysis released on Nov. 19, detailing what the authors call “systematic misuse” of taxpayer-funded grants and undisclosed political activity.
According to the report, CAIR-CA created an education fund to “help students targeted for their pro-Palestine advocacy,” offering “unrestricted $1,000 grants for students who lost scholarships, housing, or other support because of their advocacy.”
The organizations behind the report say CAIR awarded $20,000 to 20 students in 2024 and continued fundraising into 2025.
Investigators also highlight social-media posts in which CAIR staff encouraged supporters to donate supplies to campus encampments. One CAIR regional organization posted: “Not a student but want to help? Visit your nearest encampments. Donate food and supplies.”
The report argues that these activities were supported, at least indirectly, by public funds. CAIR-CA, the authors note, has received more than $26 million in state and federal grants since 2022, including $2.6 million through California’s “Stop the Hate” initiative and over $7 million for Afghan refugee legal services.
NCRI and IAN claim that CAIR’s use of charitable and taxpayer resources may violate grant restrictions and state nonprofit law.
CAIR has been increasingly probed by lawmakers and federal officials over its activism and alleged ties to extremist groups.
Republican leaders Rep. Elise Stefanik and Sen. Tom Cotton recently urged the Treasury Department to investigate CAIR for suspected links to Hamas, citing its founding and past associations.
“This pattern of historic ties to Hamas, recent public rhetoric aligned with Hamas narratives, and support for radical activism, raises serious questions about whether CAIR’s support for Hamas amounts to material support for terrorism,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
“We urge the department to immediately investigate whether CAIR maintains financial links to Hamas that constitute violation of U.S. sanctions on Hamas and ensure that none of its assets are being used to advance the objectives of Hamas,” Stefanik and Cotton concluded.
At the same time, the organization has expanded its legal and political involvement on campuses, supporting Mahmoud Khalil, suing the University of Maryland over canceled pro-Palestine events, and representing Columbia University activists in a federal fight to block Congress from accessing student protest records.
Campus Reform has contacted CAIR for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
