
A recap of the trial over the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protesters
One of the key witnesses was Peter Hatch, who works for the Homeland Security Investigations unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Over two days of testimony, Hatch told the court a 'Tiger Team' was formed in March — after two executive orders that addressed terrorism and combating antisemitism — to investigate people who took part in the protests.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Hatch said the team received as many as 5,000 names of protesters and wrote reports on about 200 who had potentially violated U.S. law. The reports, several of which were shown in court Thursday, included biographical information, criminal history, travel history and affiliations with pro-Palestinian groups as well as press clips and social media posts on their activism or allegations of their affiliation with Hamas or other anti-Israel groups.
Advertisement
Until this year, Hatch said, he could not recall a student protester being referred for a visa revocation.
Advertisement
'It was anything that may relate to national security or public safety issues, things like: Were any of the protesters violent or inciting violence? I think that's a clear, obvious one,' Hatch testified. 'Were any of them supporting terrorist organizations? Were any of them involved in obstruction or unlawful activity in the protests?'
Among the report subjects were Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was released last month after 104 days in federal immigration detention. Khalil has become a symbol of Trump's clampdown on the protests.
Tufts University student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested by immigration agents while walking along a street in a Boston suburb, talks to reporters on arriving back in Boston, May 10, 2025, a day after she was released from a Louisiana immigration detention center on the orders of a federal judge.
Rodrique Ngowi/Associated Press
Another was Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was released in May from a Louisiana facility. She spent six weeks in detention after she was arrested while walking on the street of a Boston suburb. She says she was illegally detained following an op-ed she cowrote last year criticizing the school's response to the war in Gaza.
Hatch also acknowledged that most of the names came from Canary Mission, a group that says it documents people who 'promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.' The right-wing Jewish group Betar was another source, he said.
Hatch said most of the leads were dropped when investigators could not find ties to protests and the investigations were not inspired by a new policy but rather a procedure in place at least since he took the job in 2019.
What is Canary Mission?
Weeks before Khalil's arrest, a spokesperson for Betar told The Associated Press that the activist topped a list of foreign students and faculty from nine universities that it submitted to officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made the decision to revoke Khalil's visa.
Advertisement
The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that it was not working with Betar and refused to answer questions about how it was treating reports from outside groups.
In March, speculation grew that administration officials were using Canary Mission to identify and target student protesters. That's when immigration agents arrested Ozturk.
Canary Mission has denied working with administration officials, while noting speculation that its reports led to that arrest and others.
While Canary Mission prides itself on outing anyone it labels as antisemitic, its leaders refuse to identify themselves and its operations are secretive. News reports and tax filings have linked the site to a nonprofit based in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. But journalists who have visited the group's address, listed in documents filed with Israeli authorities, have found a locked and seemingly empty building.
In recent years, news organizations have reported that several wealthy Jewish Americans made cash contributions to support Canary Mission, disclosed in tax paperwork filed by their personal foundations. But most of the group's funding remains opaque, funneled through a New York-based fund that acts as a conduit for Israeli causes.
Were student protesters targeted?
Attorneys for the plaintiffs pressed a State Department official Friday over whether protests were grounds for revoking a student's visa, repeatedly invoking several cables issued in response to Trump's executive orders as examples of policy guidance.
But Maureen Smith, a senior adviser in the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, said protest alone wasn't a critical factor. She wasn't asked specifically about pro-Palestinian protests.
'It's a bit of a hypothetical question. We would need to look at all the facts of the case,' she said. 'If it were a visa holder who engages in violent activity, whether it's during a protest or not — if they were arrested for violent activity — that is something we would consider for possible visa revocation.'
Advertisement
Smith also said she didn't think a student taking part in a nonviolent protest would be a problem but said it would be seen in a 'negative light' if the protesters supported terrorism. She wasn't asked to define what qualified as terrorism nor did she provide examples of what that would include.
Scholars scared by the crackdown
The trial opened with Megan Hyska, a green card holder from Canada who is a philosophy professor at Northwestern University, detailing how efforts to deport Khalil and Ozturk prompted her to scale back her activism, which had included supporting student encampments and protesting in support of Palestinians.
'It became apparent to me, after I became aware of a couple of high-profile detentions of political activists, that my engaging in public political dissent would potentially endanger my immigration status,' Hyska said.
Nadje Al-Ali, a green card holder from Germany and professor at Brown University, said that after the arrests of Khalil and Ozturk, she canceled a planned research trip and a fellowship to Iraq and Lebanon, fearing that 'stamps from those two countries would raise red flags' upon her return. She also declined to take part in anti-Trump protests and dropped plans to write an article that was to be a feminist critique of Hamas.
'I felt it was too risky,' Al-Ali said.
Associated Press writer Adam Geller in New York contributed to this report.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


UPI
2 minutes ago
- UPI
North Korea rejects Seoul's efforts at reconciliation
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Monday that Pyongyang had "no interest" in Seoul's efforts at improving relations. File Pool Photo by Jorge Silva/EPA-EFE/ SEOUL, July 28 (UPI) -- Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Monday that Pyongyang had "no interest" in efforts by the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to improve hostile relations between the neighbors. Her statement was the North's first official comment on Lee, who was elected in June after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over his botched martial law attempt. "We did not care who is elected president or what policy is being pursued in the ROK and, therefore, have not made any assessment of it so far," Kim said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea. Kim said that the new administration's ongoing military ties with Washington made any efforts at rapprochement pointless. "When only the 50-odd days since Lee Jae Myung's assumption to power are brought to light ... their blind trust to the ROK-U.S. alliance and their attempt to stand in confrontation with the DPRK are little short of their predecessor's," Kim said, using the official acronym for North Korea. "We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither the reason to meet nor the issue to be discussed," Kim said. Lee has pledged to improve inter-Korean relations, which have sharply deteriorated in recent years after a period of diplomatic progress in 2018-19. Last month, he suspended propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the DMZ and cracked down on activists floating balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Seoul also recently repatriated six North Koreans who drifted into southern waters on wooden boats several months ago. Kim, however, rejected the administration's gestures in her statement, calling the loudspeaker suspensions "nothing but a reversible turning back of what they should not have done in the first place." "In other words, it is not the work worthy of appreciation," she said. Seoul's Ministry of Unification, which oversees inter-Korean relations, said Kim's remarks showed that Pyongyang is "closely watching the direction of the Lee Jae Myung administration's policy toward North Korea." "The wall of distrust between the South and the North is very high due to the hostile confrontation policy of the past few years," ministry spokesman Koo Byung-sam said at a press briefing on Monday. "The government will not overreact to North Korea's response, but will continue to calmly and consistently pursue efforts to create inter-Korean relations of reconciliation and cooperation and to realize peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula," Koo said. Newly appointed Unification Minister Chung Dong-young emphasized the need to resume dialogue with North Korea when he took office on Friday. "Restoring disconnected communication channels between North and South Korea is an urgent priority for resuming inter-Korean dialogue and quickly restoring trust," Chung said during a visit to the border truce village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ. In her statement, Kim called for the Unification Ministry to be abolished and said that Chung was "spinning a daydream" with reconciliation efforts. "There can be no change in our state's understanding of the enemy and they can not turn back the hands of the clock ... which has radically changed the character of the DPRK-ROK relations," she said. In October, North Korea revised its Constitution to declare the South a "hostile state" after Kim Jong Un called for the rejection of the long-held official goal of reunification.


Bloomberg
32 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Israel Eases Gaza Aid Curbs Amid International Outcry
Live on Bloomberg TV CC-Transcript 00:00A lot of international pressure had been building on Israel to do something about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Resume the passage of humanitarian aid. What do we know? What are the latest developments from the weekend in terms of what is being allowed in now? So, I mean, there does seem to be a change of policy there and we'll see how long it lasts, because as you know, we've been here several times before. So what we can see on the ground is air drops going in. And we know that Israel did some and then we had some coming in, I think from from Jordan as well, anyway. Yeah. And you have aid trucks coming in from both Egypt and Jordan. But I think all the aid groups unanimously are saying it's nowhere near enough. So definitely better than last week. But we're talking about a drop in the ocean relative to what's required. And remember, they're playing a lot of catch up here because you have this total blockade for a least two or three months. And it's been a trickle since then. But as you say, the international pressure, I think, has got to the point where it sort of becomes indefensible not to try and do something. Yeah. Is this going to have any bearings on the cease fire discussions which also collapsed towards the end of last week? I mean, to some extent, but I mean, in terms of the actual impacts on the cease fire and the terms and conditions that both sides want. I can't see a change of change there. And we keep coming up against again and again, you know, there's this sort of insurmountable clash, I would say, between what Hamas is asking for and what Israel is asking for. I don't see any change in that, at least at the moment. Yeah. Later today, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is going to be meeting with President Trump to discuss trade deal, obviously, and amongst other things they're going to be talking about Gaza. The UK prime minister is also under a lot of pressure now because of President Macron's decision last week to recognise Palestinian statehood. Right. The UK have not said anything to that effect, but he has said that he wants to work with President Trump on pushing for a lasting ceasefire. How much leverage really does the UK Prime Minister have and also how much leverage in this instance does the U.S. have in terms of trying to procure that lasting ceasefire? Yeah, I mean, so starting with the UK on the U.S., I would say next to none, or at least I see no evidence whatsoever that there is any influence there. And that in terms of the sort of the second leg of that, which is the U.S. influence on Bibi, I mean, that waxes and wanes and it kind of depends on what's happening on the ground within Israel. And as you know, Netanyahu is in a more precarious position politically than he was, say, a couple of weeks ago. You know, he's lost his majority, obviously, in the Knesset. And to some extent, he will have to respond, I would suspect, with more thought to what's going on domestically than to the U.S. pressure. That's not to say he ignores what the U.S. is saying, but he's very sort of 5050 about whether he's going to respond in a positive way to what he's being asked to do. Yeah, And also, the U.S. seemed to be a little bit frustrated. And if you listen to the language that came out of Steve Wake of when those ceasefire discussions broke down, he said he doesn't think that Hamas are acting in good faith or in a cooperative manner. So even the U.S. are frustrated with how all this is going.


UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland to talk trade, Gaza
President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 27. The pair are to meet Monday at Trump's Scotland golf course where they are expected to talk trade and the war in Gaza. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo July 28 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday when the Western leaders are expected to discuss cease-fire plans for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Starmer is to travel to Trump's golf course in Turnberry where the American president on Sunday announced a new trade deal with the European Union. According to a statement from 10 Downing Street, Trump and Starmer are to have "wide-ranging" one-on-one talks, including on the implementation of the Economic Prosperity Deal that the pair signed on May 8 and which came into effect last month. Starmer is also expected to discuss with Trump "what more can be done to secure the cease-fire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought a cease-fire and hostage-release deal in the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza between Iran-poxy militia Hamas and Israel, but has repeatedly been met with obstacles. On Thursday, Israel and the United States recalled their negotiators, ending talks with Hamas that had initially sparked optimism that a deal could be reached. The Trump administration has blamed Hamas for the breakdown, with Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, stating the Iran-backed militia's latest response "clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza." "It's a shame Hamas has acted in this selfish way," he said in a statement. The Trump-Starmer meeting comes amid a deteriorating situation in Gaza where aid agencies are warning of starvation. Israel has announced a so-called tactical pause to fighting in specific areas to allow the delivery of aid between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., local time, on Sunday. The announcement came as the Middle Eastern country is coming under mounting international pressure over its war in Gaza and its restrictions on aid entering the territory. According to the Save the Children charity, 133 people, including 87 children, have already died from malnutrition and starvation. Britain is among 30 nations that are calling for the war in Gaza to end, describing Israel's aid delivery model as "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity." "We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," the nations said in the joint statement, which calls on Israel to lift the restrictions on the flow of aid. "The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law." Britain, France and Germany separately over the weekend issued a statement calling for Israel and Hamas to end the conflict "by reaching an immediate cease-fire." Trump and Starmer are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine. After the meeting, they will have a private engagement in Aberdeen, 10 Downing Street said. The meeting also comes ahead of Trump being received for a State Visit hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle from Sept. 17 to 19. It will be Trump's second State Visit after a previous trip in 2019 where he was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.