How A Muslim Group With Terrorist Ties Got $1.3 Million In Taxpayer Dollars

The state of Washington funneled more than a million taxpayer dollars to an American Muslim group with suspected ties to radical Islamic terrorists, a Daily Wire review found.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Washington State (CAIR-WA) has received almost $1.3 million in federal funds since January 2023 to help Afghan refugees emigrate to the United States. The money, disbursed by the state as part of a federal refugee resettlement program, has fueled the growth of CAIR’s Washington chapter.

“When I arrived here in December 2020, we had a team of 6 employees,” Imraan Siddiqi, executive director of CAIR-WA, wrote in the organization’s 2025 annual report. “Fast forward to the present day, where we are on our way to reaching 20 staff members in 2026.” Siddiqi notes that the group plans to expand further, “hiring a deportation defense attorney and a detention intake coordinator to help fight back against unjust cases of detention.”

CAIR is the largest Muslim group in the United States, with 25 chapters across the country. In 2008, the Justice Department named the group an “unindicted co-conspirator” of the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group. Late last year, the governors of Texas and Florida declared CAIR a terrorist organization. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has fought against CAIR in Congress, declaring in a 2025 hearing that the group was founded to support the Muslim Brotherhood, and that “Many people associated with CAIR have actively aided terrorism and criminal efforts.”

A CAIR spokesman told The Daily Wire the national organization does not receive any funding from the federal government. When asked about the group’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, it referred The Daily Wire to its “Dispelling Rumors About CAIR” page, which states, “Efforts to tie CAIR to the so-called ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ memo are pure McCarthyism” and “CAIR has always condemned violence against civilians — including on October 7th.”

The group’s cofounder and executive director, Nihad Awad, said he was “happy to see” Hamas attack Israel on October 7, 2023  — a statement that led the Biden administration to remove CAIR from its “Combat Antisemitism” working group.

The contract between CAIR-WA and the Washington Department of Social and Health Services was signed in July 2022 and extended to September 2026, according to contract amendments reviewed by The Daily Wire.

The total amount of federal funds made available to CAIR-WA was $1,351,897.67. Around 90% of the funding was allotted to pay for services and administrative costs, including employing immigration attorneys, an immigrant rights administrator, and an immigration legal assistant. The contract stipulated CAIR-WA would hire new staff to fulfill the requirements of the contract.

CAIR-WA called “salaries and benefits for our incredible staff” its “largest expense by far” in its 2023, 2024, and 2025 annual reports.

Screenshot of a contract between CAIR-WA and Washington Department of Social and Health Services

CAIR-WA has received $1,286,859 from the state of Washington since January 2023, a state fiscal transparency website shows. The organization’s total reported yearly revenue was $1,154,807 in 2023 and $1,416,078 in 2024, according to public financial filings. CAIR-WA received $406,150 from the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in 2023, over 35% of its yearly revenue, and $429,917 in 2024, over 30% of its yearly revenue, according to the fiscal transparency website.

The funds in question came from the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act, which was created to assist Afghan evacuees resettle in America after the Biden administration’s disastrous August 2021 withdrawal from the country. The Biden administration brought around 76,000 Afghans to be resettled in the United States as part of the “Operation Allies Welcome” program, which has been scrutinized for allowing Afghan nationals to live in the country without being properly vetted.

A 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 through the Operation Allies Welcome program shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., in November 2025. The terror attack influenced President Donald Trump’s action to freeze all immigration from Afghanistan. A September 2026 report from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found a 40% error rate “in the adjudication of Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) asylum files” it reviewed. The report found that most errors involved incomplete documentation or missed aliases.

CAIR-WA was contracted by Washington state to provide “Direct Immigration-Related Legal Services” for Afghan immigrants, which included determining a client’s eligibility for services and completing intake forms for the Health Department to review.

“The contractor offering direct client assistance must conduct the following activities: Conduct an initial intake interview with the applicant and complete the consent form, the initial case assessment, and the intake form to gather necessary personal information and determine eligibility for services,” states the contract. “The contractor will provide their own case assessment and intake form and will share it with DSHS for review.”

CAIR-WA was initially contracted to provide 60 participants with immigration related legal services and intake, to connect 150 participants with pro bono legal services, and to reach 500 people with “outreach and educational services.” The deliverables of the contract were amended several times throughout the contract’s lifespan.

A September 2025 contract update showed the performance goals had changed to providing 140 units of “direct immigration-related legal services” to 80 unique individuals. A “Unit of Service” was defined as “a single interaction with program participant on various immigration-related legal services topics, including all case management activities, completion and submission of all applications, all family reunification activities, and all other eligible activities.”

CAIR-WA currently operates an “Immigration Justice Project” that provides legal services “specifically for Muslims in Washington state” who need help fighting deportation and security concerns or are seeking affirmative asylum, according to its website.

The Daily Wire asked CAIR-WA if any of the salaries for staff working on the Immigration Justice Project were paid with taxpayer funds, but did not receive a response.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a June 2026 X post that his agency had requested a review of CAIR’s use of federal funds.

“In June, HHS requested a review of allegations involving CAIR National and its affiliates, CAIR-California and CAIR-Washington, regarding the use of federal grant funds,” a department spokesman told The Daily Wire. “Americans deserve full transparency when taxpayer dollars are involved, and HHS will take appropriate action whenever there is evidence of fraud, abuse, or other violations of federal requirements.”

HHS has requested a review of allegations involving @CAIRNational and its affiliates @CAIRCalifornia and @CAIRWashington regarding the use of federal grant funds. Americans deserve full transparency when taxpayer dollars are involved. If there is evidence of fraud, abuse, or ties to designated terrorist organizations, we will act.

I have shared these concerns with @SecRubio and encouraged a full @StateDept review of any information relevant to this matter.

Accountability is not optional. Protecting the integrity of federal programs is our responsibility.

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 9, 2026

The Council on American Islamic Relations of Washington State did not respond to The Daily Wire’s requests for comment. The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services did not provide a comment to The Daily Wire.

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