CAIR-Florida and other religious and civil rights groups spoke out against a new state law that gives the governor and his cabinet the power to label certain groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations.
CAIR-Florida is a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has more than 20 chapters across the United States. The group provides legal support and education about the Muslim community.
On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law HB1471, which backs a December executive order that declared two Islamic groups, CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, as terrorist organizations and blocks them from receiving state funds.
CAIR and CAIR-Florida filed a lawsuit. The executive order was blocked last month by a federal judge, who ruled it unconstitutional.
The bill – which is separate from the executive order – goes into effect July 1.
CAIR-Florida leaders said they are waiting to see how the law plays out before taking legal action.
Hiba Rahim, the group's executive director, said she does not believe CAIR-Florida meets the law's criteria to be designated as a terrorist organization. However, Rahim believes the law can be used to chill free speech.
"What this actually is, is an anti-free speech law. It's an anti-due process law. It's an anti-First Amendment law," said Rahim during a news conference on Tuesday.
The law also exempts information related to how a designation is made from public record — a concern raised by Democrats during the legislative process.
It also punishes individuals and schools that provide "material support" or "promotes" these groups.
"These new laws open the doors for the government to label groups, advocacy groups, faith groups, student groups, as terrorists based on the decision of just five people without proper evidence, without due process, and then it allows the government to hide the evidence from the public," Rahim said.
Another portion of the bill prohibits courts from imposing any stipulations of a religious law, with a specific focus on Sharia Law.
But Rahim said the focus of the bill is not safety, and that there are already protections in place that do not allow "any foreign law to supersede the constitution of the land."
"No Muslim, from the people to the pulpit, advocates bringing Sharia to America," said Rahim.
Charlie Rodgers with the Progressive Jewish Coalition said the bill could threaten free speech on campuses and chill the work of groups like his.
"It diminishes any prospect of a campus enlivened by new ideas and discourse, replacing it with one of fear in which expressing the wrong ideas could ruin a young person's life," said Rodgers.
Rodgers said the state, which has often aligned itself with Israel, could target his group for speaking out against Israel or "American Imperialist actions."
"A lot of our advocacy, even as Jews could be deemed not in line with American principles by this bill... it's basically taking away our right as Jews to have a disagreement within our religion," said Rodgers.
Supporters of the bill argued that there are safeguards. An amendment required that a student’s actions be “reasonably interpreted” as an actual threat of violence; disrupt the learning environment; infringe upon the rights of others; or offers “material support for or the recruitment of members for such an organization.”
Miranda Margolis, an attorney with the Tampa chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, said the new law is unnecessary.
"Florida already has laws and mechanisms for identifying people who have committed crimes. We don't need this," said Margolis. "This bill is, at best, political theater, and at worst, a direct threat to the rights, freedoms and safety of all Floridians."
