The Texas Tribune reports that during a "Don't Sharia My Texas" panel at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Bo French, a former Tarrant County GOP chair and a current candidate for state railroad commissioner, said something he was sure would make people uncomfortable: Islam is a problem.
"I think there is the sense that we are losing our culture, our American culture, our Christian culture," he later told American Family Radio. "The president ran on a platform of mass deportations. By estimates, there are roughly 100 million people in the country who probably shouldn't be here. What we do with those, I don't know, but certainly mass deporting a good chunk of those would be helpful."
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. reached 14 million in 2023. Texas is home to more than 300,000 Muslims — more than all but four states — and long-established Muslim communities.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Texas has condemned the legislature's recent creation of an "Anti-Sharia Caucus," calling it an "anti-Muslim hate group" that is "rooted not in reality, but in misinformation and fear that unfairly targets Muslim Texans."
For Muslims, they say Sharia refers to "personal religious guidance similar to how kosher laws guide Jewish practice or church teachings guide Christian practice."
"It is about faith and personal conduct, not replacing American law or governing institutions,” CAIR Texas claims.
Meanwhile, the East Plano Islamic Center is trying to develop a Muslim-centric development of over 1,000 residential units, a mosque, a K-12 faith-based school, a community college, and senior housing in North Texas to support the growing regional Muslim population.
The controversial "EPIC City" project has been renamed "The Meadow" and is currently stalled following multiple legal challenges and intense political opposition from state officials.
French recognized that, like Minnesota, Texas is dealing with the issue of Islam, which does not have a positive track record.
"Islamophobia to me is just the recognition that Muslims openly admit that they are here for jihad," French told Jenna Ellis. "Look around the world at what jihad looks like elsewhere. We don't want that here."
In recent years, the rise of radical Islamism has negatively affected European nations through high-profile terrorist attacks, increased security threats, and challenges with the integration of Muslim communities.
French figures the U.S. is just a few years behind those European countries, but he believes many Americans are waking up to the threat.
"If they can infiltrate Texas and conquer Texas, then what's going to happen?" he asked. "They're going to be able to control the United States."
