United States: Protecting Nonprofits from Overbroad Terrorism Legislation
Safeguarding Civil Society’s Voice
Published December 2025
In the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, members of Congress introduced legislation HR 6408 that would allow the Treasury Secretary to designate nonprofits as “terrorist supporting organizations” and suspend their tax-exempt status based on claimed support of terrorism. ICNL was amongst the first organizations to provide analysis and raise concerns that an administration could abuse this overbroad designation process to selectively target and punish nonprofits whose views the administration opposed.
Working with partners, ICNL’s U.S. Program helped build a broad coalition of international and domestic nonprofits bringing attention to the dangers this type of legislation posed. HR 6408 and a similar bill introduced in 2024, HR 9495, passed the House of Representatives, but were both defeated in the Senate. A provision related to “terrorist supporting organizations” was initially part of President Trump’s signature tax initiative in 2025, but this provision was stripped from the final bill.
ICNL continues to provide analysis and navigation assistance to the nonprofit community on the evolving relationship between U.S. counter-terrorism law and potential threats to tax-exempt status.
Discussed in this article:
▷ Evolving Threats to the Tax-Exempt Status of
501(c)(3) Nonprofits▷ 10 Key Issues in 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Legal Compliance: A Resource Roadmap for Public Charities
▷ ICNL’s United States Program
Photo: iStock/ajansen
More Impact Stories
Global: Protecting Civic Freedoms through Digital Security and AI Governance
Myanmar: Resource Hubs Deliver Lifelines for Civil Society
