Council on American Islamic Relations-Los Angeles (CAIR-LA)

CAIR-LA has previously engaged in political and cultural advocacy, asserting that criticism of Islam or expansionist immigration policy constitute civil rights violations. The group has pressured school and county officials over public comments about Islam, praised officials who repeated its own messaging, and pursued litigation over instances of Muslim women having their hijabs removed during jail-booking procedures. ^{3  4  5}

CAIR-LA has also advocated left-of-center policy priorities in the state of California such as recognizing Muslim religious holidays as state holidays and supporting legislation limiting cooperation between state agencies and federal immigration enforcement authorities including U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ⁶

Activism

In addition to immigration services, civil rights training, and other legal advocacy work, CAIR-Los Angeles (CAIR-LA) has taken part in advocacy efforts criticizing what it claims are civil rights abuses against American Muslim communities.  ^{7  8}

In April 2026, CAIR-LA sent a letter to the Long Beach Unified School District urging it to publicly condemn remarks made during an April 2026 school board meeting when an attendee allegedly claimed the United States has a “massive Muslim problem.” CAIR-LA’s letter also criticized the school district’s board for permitting the comments without intervention and for not increasing protection for Muslim students and families in the district. ³

Also in April 2026, CAIR-LA released a statement advocating against alleged anti-Muslim statements made during an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting. The statement also praised the board of supervisors’ pushback against the comments, with one allegedly claiming to support county residents’ “ability to live alongside one another with mutual respect and understanding.” ⁴

Again in April 2026, CAIR-LA joined the Asian Law Caucus’s lawsuit against the Orange County Sheriff’s Department over allegations the Department had forced two Muslim women in removing their hijabs during jail booking procedures following their arrest at a 2024 protest within the University of California, Irvine. The lawsuit was able to secure a preliminary injunction, and later the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered the sheriff’s department to implement restrictions on access to, and distribution of, the women’s booking photos without their hijabs. ⁵

As of 2026, CAIR-LA has also joined CAIR California (CAIR-CA) in policy advocacy to codify the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as official California state holidays. CAIR-LA has also supported advocacy initiatives that oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including California SB 1095 which would prohibit ICE agents from accessing state data fusion centers as a measure of locating illegal immigrants. ⁶

Controversy

In May 2026, a City Journal article reported that CAIR-California had received over $40 million in funding from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) since 2021, most of which had been earmarked for immigration and legal-aid programs. The article argued against state funding for CAIR California (CAIR-CA), accusing the national Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) organization of having ties to the Palestinian terror group Hamas and as a result should not be receiving funds from the state. The article also claimed that CAIR’s founders Omar Ahmad and Nihad Awad were involved with the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Palestine Committee,” citing a George Washington University Project on Extremism report that described the “Palestine Committee” as part of the U.S.-based Hamas support infrastructure. ⁹

In response to the City Journal piece, a CAIR-CA spokesman called allegations against the organization “baseless” and “part of a broader defamation campaign.” ⁹

Leadership

As of 2026, Hussam Ayloush was working as the executive director of CAIR-Los Angeles, a position he had held since 1998. As of 2026, he was a member of the West Coast Muslim-Catholic Dialogue and the Abrahamic Faith Peacemaking Initiative. Ayloush was also an elected delegate and executive board member for the California Democratic Party and sat on the Advisory Board of the Orange County chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. He was also a co-founder of the CAIR-CA PAC, which seeks to elect Muslim and pro-Muslim state and local politicians. He had been national chairman of the Syrian American Council (SAC) and was a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s 2017 travel ban on nationals of several Middle Eastern countries. Ayloush was also among 32 interfaith leaders arrested in 2018 at the U.S.-Mexico border in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. He received his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.B.A. from California State University, Fullerton. ¹⁰

Financials

In 2024, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-California (CAIR-CA), the parent group of CAIR-Los Angeles, reported $18,938,214 in total revenue, $17,627,261 in total expenses, and $22,933,890 in total assets. That year, CAIR-CA received $7,063,797 in government grants (37 percent of its annual revenue). ¹¹

According to a May 2026 article from City Journal, CAIR-CA had received “at least $41 million in funding” from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) since 2021. ⁹