InfluenceWatch Friday

InfluenceWatch, a project of Capital Research Center, is a comprehensive and ever-evolving compilation of our research into the numerous advocacy groups, foundations, and donors working to influence the public policy process. The website offers transparency into these influencers’ funding, motives, and connections while providing insight often neglected by other watchdog groups.

The information compiled in InfluenceWatch gives news outlets and other interested parties research to use in reporting on significant topics that are often overlooked by the American public.

CRC is pleased to present some of the most significant additions to InfluenceWatch in the past week:

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project is a legal advocacy group that provides services to immigrants in the United States, including for citizenship proceedings, representation during asylum cases and defense against deportation proceedings. In November 2024, the group signed an open letter calling on President Joe Biden to enact new immigration policies, including the closing of up to 90% of all migrant detention facilities in the country. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project claims to protect the rights of migrants against “systemic oppression” while promoting values such as “diversity and inclusiveness.”
• Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) is a labor union for public school teachers and a state-level affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). In 2018, MSEA campaigned for the passage of Question 1, a state constitutional amendment to allocate casino revenue for increased school funding which ultimately passed that same year. MSEA opposes school voucher programs alongside other left-of-center groups and government advocacy groups including the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and the Maryland Association of Boards of Education.
• Vijaya Foundation is the private family foundation of Vinit Bodas, the founder, chief investment officer, and president of investment-management firm Deccan Value Investors LP. Bodas has previously donated to Democratic Party-aligned organizations including the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The Vijaya Foundation has provided grants to several left-of-center groups including America Votes, the Voter Registration Project, and the New Venture Fund (NVF)
• Muslim Society of Jersey Shore is a religious center that operates as the Masjid Bilal Mosque in Toms River, New Jersey. It is associated with the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), an endowment that was characterized as an “unintended co-conspirator” by the U.S. Department of Justice in its 2007 prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) for providing funds to the terrorist organization Hamas. In 2015, the Muslim Society of Jersey Shore’s chairman Mohamed Nabeel Elmasry told the Asbury Park Press that the mosque opposed Islamic terrorist groups such as ISIS and that it was “a constant watchdog” against radical Islamist propaganda.
• Dar-ul-Islah Muslim Society of Bergen County is a religious advocacy group that operates a mosque, school, and community center in Teaneck, New Jersey. The group has collaborated with the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). It co-signed a CAIR-NJ letter in August 2020 stating support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and in 2023 joined a CAIR-NJ-led protest over Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah(D) being denied entry to the White House by the U.S. Secret Service over security concerns. Dar-ul-Islah Muslim Society of Bergen County has organized events in Teaneck opposing U.S. support for Israel, promoted gun control legislation, and hosted controversial U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for an impromptu speech.