US health agency gave $80 million to groups with terror ties, finds Middle East Forum

The US Department of Health and Human Services directed nearly $80 million in grants to 14 organizations it describes as having ties to terrorism or extremist movements, the Middle East Forum (MEF) report alleges in its new report.

MEF carried out an audit of federal grants data and public records, which led to the discovery that 14 terror-linked and extremist organizations received nearly $80 million in HHS funding. Grants to five radical foreign groups represent more than $14 million in taxpayer-funded handouts. The report states that roughly 87% of the funding was awarded between 2022 and 2025, during the Biden administration.

MEF noted that HHS grants to these radical organizations often appear unobjectionable on the surface; funding may have been allocated to coronavirus relief, mosque renovations, and job placement services.

However, other funding programs could me deemed more controversial, such as providing cash assistance and legal services to Afghan and Iraqi refugees. Much of the funding did not come directly from HHS but was distributed through state agencies, universities and other grant recipients that sub-awarded federal funds, according to the report.

MEF said these refugee assistance programs ensure that visitors hailing from countries with populations that are already exceptionally vulnerable to radicalization and violent extremism will grow dependent on radical organizations soon after arriving in the United States. This type of funding makes up an overwhelming share of HHS funding described in the study.

“Despite their noble-sounding missions, these grants provide radical organizations with legitimacy, resources, and access to vulnerable populations, including newly arrived refugees from high-risk regions,” said Benjamin Baird, who authored the MEF report. “American taxpayers should not be subsidizing groups that undermine the very values of safety and well-being HHS claims to uphold.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was the recipient of the largest sum of money - exceeding $42 million.

Despite this, CAIR receives substantial government funding. The majority of the HHS money ($40,663,468) went to CAIR-California for Afghan refugee services. An additional $1.5 million in HHS sub-grants went to CAIR chapters in Washington and Oklahoma.

Aside from CAIR, other recipients of HHS funding include Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

Located in Falls Church, Virginia, MEF describes Dar al-Hijrah as one of the most prominent outposts for radical Islam in North America.

Reports obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism through a Freedom of Information Act request and found on the Department of Homeland Security’s confidential databases stated that Dar Al-Hijrah was “operating as a front for Hamas operatives in [the] U.S.” and was connected to “numerous individuals linked to terrorism financing.”

Dar al-Hijrah has been associated with figures such as Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, one of Al Qaeda’s most prolific recruiters before his death from a 2011 US drone strike.

Additionally, evidence from the “9/11 Commission Report” detailed how a member of the mosque assisted two of the 9/11 hijackers, Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour, in finding an apartment in Virginia.

HHS has sub-granted nearly $860,000 in 2024 to Dar Al-Hijrah through the Virginia Department of Social Services. These funds purportedly went to “Afghan support services."

"Consequently, one of America’s most dangerous mosques was entrusted to assist newly arrived immigrants hailing from populations highly susceptible to radicalization," MEF said.

"Certainly, a mosque that allegedly helped 9/11 hijackers to settle in Northern Virginia should not be entrusted to hand out cash to Afghan and Iraqi refugees," it added.

Another notable organization on the list of HHS's recipients is the Muslim American Society (MAS), specifically, its branch in Sacramento. US courts and some government officials have previously described MAS as an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

MAS-Sacramento received $90,000 in HHS grants for its community center and social services foundation.

As noted, the funding for all the organizations mentioned was purportedly used for worthy causes, whether it be refugee resettlement, domestic violence programs, health clinics, HIV research, or mosque renovations. The MEF report argues that while many of the awards served legitimate humanitarian purposes, directing taxpayer funds through organizations it alleges have extremist ties risks lending them credibility, expanding their influence, and providing access to vulnerable communities.

To end government funding of terror-linked Islamist organizations, MEF recommends what it calls an "integrated, multi-stakeholder approach of escalating legal remedies employing the Four Ds to Defeat Radical Islam: Debarment, Delisting, Derisking, and Designating.”

MEF encouraged HHS to pursue government-wide suspension and debarment of terror-linked and extremist grant recipients. This federal action allows agencies to immediately prohibit funding while officials investigate whether certain conduct should disqualify an entity from receiving government grants.

Additionally, given that many federal funding programs are restricted to 501(c) nonprofit organizations, MEF suggested that HHS take away an entity’s nonprofit status, so it will no longer qualify for certain HHS funding opportunities.

In extreme cases, it recommended the US government apply terrorist designations to Islamist organizations.

“American taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll Islamist networks that exploit refugee programs, spread dangerous misinformation, and undermine the very health and security HHS claims to protect,” said MEF Executive Director Gregg Roman. “It is time to defund these extremists and reclaim our government from radical capture.”