Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation into law Monday that gives him and other Florida leaders the ability to label groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who support them. The law allows a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate a group as a domestic or foreign terrorist organization, with the governor and three other members of the Florida Cabinet approving or rejecting the designation. DeSantis announced the signing at a news conference at the University of South Florida’s Gibbons Alumni Center in Tampa.
“The legislation we’ll sign today is the strongest action Florida has ever taken to protect its people from this influence,” DeSantis said during the bill signing event. “And obviously, it spans finance, it spans political, it spans culture.” The governor added that the measure would help protect taxpayers and prevent activities that “should not be happening in the United States of America, but certainly shouldn’t be happening in the free state of Florida.”
The Florida Cabinet consists of the governor, state attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner, all of whom are elected separately. Once designated a terrorist organization, a group can be dissolved and can no longer receive any state funding through school districts or state agencies. Universities would have to report the status of expelled students attending on visas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the new law.
The legislation, effective July 1, backs up an executive order DeSantis issued in December designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the enforcement of DeSantis’ executive order. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction against the order in March, writing that it violated CAIR’s rights by targeting and threatening those providing the organization with material support.
Critics argue the new law contains vague language that could restrict education programs and target student protesters. “The implications are fraught,” said William Johnson, PEN America’s Florida director. “Could chill education at every level.” PEN America, a free speech advocacy group, said the law could target student protesters who criticize Florida officials and has vague language that could restrict education programs deemed to be “promoting” terrorism.
CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hiba Rahim criticized the legislation as advancing “a political agenda” and said it jeopardizes student speech, freedom of religion, and due process. “This is not just about CAIR. This expanded and deeply flawed framework can attack any organization that dares to dissent,” Rahim said in a statement Monday. The law also bars a court or other adjudicatory body from enforcing any provision of religious or foreign law, with an emphasis against the Islamic code known as Sharia law.
The designation authority falls to the state’s Chief of Domestic Security, currently Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass. The law represents one of the most significant expansions of state authority to combat what officials describe as terrorist influence in Florida. DeSantis emphasized that the measure addresses threats across multiple sectors including finance, politics and culture during his Tampa announcement.
The legislation comes as Florida continues to face legal challenges over the December executive order targeting Islamic organizations. The preliminary injunction issued by the federal court remains in effect while litigation continues over the constitutional issues raised by the designations.