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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
In court testimony, Boston ICE official recalls pressure from above to arrest Rümeysa Öztürk
'We made it a priority,' Cunningham said. He also testified that, in the months after President Trump was inaugurated in January, Homeland Security Investigations has been prioritizing immigration arrests more than before, and that 'the prioritization of that work has certainly increased.' The testimony took place during the seventh day of trial in a lawsuit brought by higher education organizations, including the American Association of University Professors, over the Trump administration's policies of arresting and detaining noncitizen students and others engaged in pro-Palestinian activism. Advertisement Öztürk was US District Judge William G. Young will decide whether the lawsuit plaintiffs proved their claims that the administration's effort to revoke the visas of pro-Palestinian protesters and deport them is a violation of their First Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedure Act. Advertisement In court on Tuesday, multiple top ICE officials from the Boston, New England, New York and Washington D.C. offices of Homeland Security Investigations said that in the past six months under Trump, they were told to prioritize immigration enforcement cases, as opposed to criminal cases, which they had previously focused on in the past. Cunningham acknowledged that prior to this change, he largely had no experience with these kinds of cases. Cunningham consulted with an attorney from ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor prior to Öztürk's arrest, to make sure that the agency was on 'solid legal ground' in the operation, he said. Last week, Peter Hatch, an assistant director of an ICE intelligence office, testified that analysts were directed to look at a pro-Israel website for leads on investigating protesters because it contained more than 5,000 names of people who publicly supported the Palestinian cause. The team looking into the protesters was internally referred to as Tiger Team, Hatch said. Hatch disclosed that the agency An attorney for the plaintiffs displayed in court a report on Öztürk, titled 'Report of Analysis,' which was ICE's subject profile of Öztürk. It was the first time the report, which was only partially unveiled, had been disclosed. Advertisement On Tuesday, Cunningham, who said he supervised Öztürk's arrest, told the court that he received an email which included a memo from the Department of State as an attachment, which said that Öztürk's visa had been revoked. The email also included a copy of an op-ed Öztürk co-wrote in the student newspaper calling on Tufts to divest from companies with ties to Israel. He could not remember receiving a similar communication in his time at HSI, he testified. He said that 'there were a lot of hands in fishbowl' in planning for and carrying out the arrest. In response to questions, Cunningham said he did not see anything in the op-ed that indicated evidence of a crime. Michael Tremonte, an attorney for the plaintiffs, asked Cunningham if there had been a decision made by top officials to keep Öztürk's visa's revocation a secret from her. 'We did not plan on alerting her to the fact that her visa had been revoked,' Cunningham responded. On Friday, John Armstrong, a top official in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is part of the state department, also testified that Öztürk was not informed that her visa was being revoked, on guidance from ICE officials. 'ICE had made a request that we not inform so that they could take action to remove Ms. Öztürk from the United States,' Armstrong said. Armstrong said that the state department typically lets visa holders know that their visa is being revoked. Cunningham testified that he was the agent who signed the arrest warrant for ICE to ultimately apprehend Öztürk, and that the cause for her arrest was her visa revocation. which would make her in violation of immigration law. Advertisement During Cuningham's testimony, Young, the judge, noted that 'not everyone who has their visa revoked is arrested.' 'I don't think it's at issue whether there was legal authority to take Ms. Öztürk into custody,' Young said. 'The question is a broader question as to the reasons for all that.' Young said that he was in possession of various documents related to Öztürk's arrest, but that he could not share them with the plaintiffs — along with some documents related to other arrests of students by ICE — because a federal appeals court has ordered they remain sealed, while weighing a petition by the government to declare them privileged information. On Tuesday, several other ICE agents who were involved in the arrests of students who had expressed Pro-Palestinian views testified, including agents who planned the apprehension of Mahmoud Khalil in New York, Mohsen Mahdawi in Vermont, and Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar and professor at Georgetown University. The agents testified that supervisors had conveyed to them that the Department of State notified their offices that these scholars were in violation of immigration law, and that resources should be swiftly allocated to locate and eventually arrest them. Shelley Murphy of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Angela Mathew contributed to this report. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at
Los Angeles Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Central Coast pot operation becomes site of massive immigration spectacle
Camarillo, Calif. — A massive show of federal law enforcement agents swept through rural corners of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties this week in the largest of the Trump administration's weeks-long campaign against undocumented immigrants in California — and the deadliest. Farmworker advocates said Friday afternoon that one laborer had died from injuries sustained after falling from the roof of a greenhouse at Glass House cannabis operation while trying to escape federal agents — the first death as a result of an immigration sweep. The raid by agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the California National Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration, among others, has placed a spotlight on the well-known cannabis company, which has become central to the local economy. The operation began when immigration agents surrounded large greenhouse facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria Thursday and, after presenting warrants, began entering buildings. The result was hours of chaos, particularly at the company's Camarillo outpost. As people screamed 'La migra! La migra!' workers began to run in a panic, hiding in refrigerators, containers, car trunks and on the greenhouse roofs. Protesters massed at the gates, squaring off against agents, who deployed tear gas and less-lethal bullets. Once the gas had cleared and the riot police and hundreds of protesters had gone home, nearly 200 people, including several minors, had been detained, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 'At least 10 migrant children were rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking,' the agency said in a statement. 'Federal officers also arrested approximately 200 illegal aliens.' In addition, the FBI said it was investigating a possible shooting that had taken place amid the hurly-burly of protests outside the gates of Glass House, one of the largest legal cannabis operations in the state. The incident, with its images of children running through fields to escape clouds of tear gas and workers hiding in terror amid panes of broken glass on greenhouse roofs catapulted across social media, and quickly fueled dueling political narratives. The Trump administration portrayed the events as an action against 'a marijuana grow operation' that, as a Border Patrol official put it in a post on X, 'hires illegal aliens and exploits unaccompanied minors.' The White House account on X joined the fray, calling out Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) for defending farmworkers doing their jobs. 'That ain't produce, holmes. THAT's PRODUCT,' the White House post read. Local elected officials and farmworker advocates, meanwhile, decried the action against a legal and highly regulated operation. 'It was disproportionate, overkill,' said Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara). The United Farm Workers, in a statement, said: 'These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families. There is no city, state or federal district where it is legal to terrorize and detain people for being brown and working in agriculture. These raids must stop immediately.' The operation also put a spotlight on Glass House, one of the largest legal cannabis operations in California. The company, which counts among its founders a former Torrance police officer, has in recent years become the largest taxpayer in Ventura County and one of the area's largest employers. It has become a big player in local politics, but now, apparently, it is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. Company officials have said little publicly, posting on X Friday that two of its operations, one in Camarillo in Ventura County and one near Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County, had granted agents entry after being presented with a search warrant. 'Workers were detained and we are assisting to provide them legal representation,' the company said in a statement, adding that it 'has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practice.' Glass House occupies a controversial position in California's rough-and-tumble legal cannabis industry. Five years ago, the company bought up old vegetable and flower greenhouses across the farmland south of Santa Barbara. Its growth happened at such a large scale and at such a low production cost that many in the industry refer to it as the 'Walmart of Weed.' The converted greenhouses at the 165-acre Camarillo site once grew cucumbers, a nod to the pattern of repurposing distressed properties employed by co-founder Kyle Kazan, a former Torrance police officer once assigned to gang detail who made his first millions building a property management empire of Orange County beach rentals. Glass House began as a single greenhouse operation in Santa Barbara, and after a 2021 merger with a Canadian company that allowed public trading of Glass House Brands stock, established its mammoth footprint in Ventura County. Under Kazan, Glass House has weathered allegations brought by competitors of dumping cannabis products illegally in other states. Kazan, while not heavily engaged in national political battles beyond cannabis, has been a proponent of pardons for those serving long prison sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. In a May investor presentation, Kazan praised Trump's appointee for pardon advisor. The company also sparked a firestorm in 2019 when it donated $189,000 to the Carpinteria School District — and then got school board members to pose for a photo wearing company merchandise amid cannabis plants. At the time, many residents decried the growing influence of marijuana businesses on local politics and culture, while others defended Glass House and other operations for providing jobs and local tax revenue. Court filings show many of Glass House's employees actually work for a Camarillo labor contractor. The company faces allegations of labor law violations — including failure to pay overtime or give meal breaks — and separate sexual harassment and discrimination complaints filed by workers paid $16 an hour (minimum wage at the time) to sweep plant trimmings, handle coconut fiber mulch and tend to other duties. The company disputes the charges, levied in Ventura County civil lawsuits, which are still pending in court. Numerous Trump administration officials called out the presence of undocumented minors working at the facility on Thursday. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott posted a photograph on X of young men with their faces blurred. 'These are the juveniles found in the marijuana facility — almost all unaccompanied, one as young as 14,' the post read. 'California are you ready to partner with us to stop child exploitation?' In its statement, Glass House said it 'does not and has never employed minors.' It also said it did not expect the raid to 'affect operations moving forward' and would 'provide additional details when applicable.' On Friday morning, the scene outside the company's Camarillo complex was much calmer than it had been the day before. The operation is surrounded by a metal fence with green tarp; signs warn that the fence is charged with 7,000 volts. Many who were there were trying to recover cars left behind by workers detained in the raid. Others said they believed some workers might still be hiding in the sprawling complex. Irma Perez said her nephew, Fidel Buscio, 24, had been working at the facility and then hid on the roof before later being detained. Before he was taken, she said, he sent her videos, including one in which he stands on the roof with blood on his shirt from an injury sustained from scrambling over broken glass. Perez said Buscio had lived with his wife in Tijuana but come to Ventura County after she became sick. She said he is undocumented and trying to obtain legal status. She said her last communication from him was a call in which he said: 'They got me.' She was trying to pick up his car; his attorney, she added, does not know where Buscio was taken. Two daughters of a detained worker were there Friday as well, trying to pick up their mother's car. The 19- and 20-year-old did not want to be named to protect their family's privacy, but they said their mother told them that she chose not to run when immigration agents entered the complex. She has already signed self-deportation papers to go to Mexico and avoid being held in a detention center in another state, they said. 'It's really sad,' one daughter said. 'They're leaving a lot of people without parents.' Another worker, who is undocumented and did not want to be named, said he hid beneath the cannabis plants for 11 hours. It was hot, more than 100 degrees. He said he could hear the sound of others being detained, and he stayed hidden until about midnight, when he finally crept out and escaped. Griselda Reyes Basurto, program manager at the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project which works with many of the area's Indigenous workers, said she was able to access Glass House early Friday morning to look for anyone left behind. She said they didn't find anyone but they saw remnants of the raid: a pair of shoes, broken glass, trails of blood. Car windows were shattered, she said, a sign that people tried to hide in their cars but agents broke in anyway. She said she is coordinating with families of those taken to make sure they're able to receive their final paychecks. Thursday was payday. The raid has terrified the immigrant populations who work in the area's farms and the executives who run California's cannabis operation. Activists shared images of DEA agents at the Camarillo immigration raid and worried that it signaled an end to the federal ceasefire against cannabis. While most states have laws that make cannabis cultivation, sales and use legal in some fashion, it remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, alongside heroin and LSD. 'DOJ knows cannabis farms are easy targets because they violate federal law, and ICE can roll with the other three-letter agencies to do a raid,' said an executive at one of California's largest cannabis operations, who did not want to be named for fear of worsening the situation. Americans for Safe Access and the California Cannabis Industry Assn. held an emergency call Friday to prepare for more such federal actions. 'We have real enemies in Washington who are now in power,' said Steph Sherer, president of Americans for Safe Access. The Glass House raid targeted people, not plants, but 'let's be clear, this was a warning shot and we've got to be prepared for both,' said Caren Woodson, chief executive of the Cannabis Industry Assn. 'Just because it wasn't plants this time doesn't mean it won't be next time.' Some of the sense of vulnerability rises from memories of Trump's first term, when then-Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions in 2018 rolled back a Department of Justice memorandum that dissuaded federal prosecution of cannabis laws in states where the plant is licensed and regulated. The threat of enforcement of federal laws criminalizing cannabis carries big risks for cannabis operators. In federal court, state legalization is not an allowed defense. Moreover, Trump's DEA has failed to act on recommendations to reduce federal prohibitions against cannabis. 'This is real. We've all lived through it, and it is happening again,' Sherer said.
Los Angeles Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
A recap of the trial over the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protesters
BOSTON — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's campaign of arresting and deporting college faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations spent the first few days of the trial showing how the crackdown silenced scholars and targeted more than 5,000 protesters. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations, is one of the first against President Trump and members of his administration to go to trial. Plaintiffs want U.S. District Judge William Young to rule that the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. The government argues that no such policy exists and that it is enforcing immigration laws legally to protect national security. 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. 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. Until this year, Hatch said, he could not recall a student protester being referred for a visa revocation. '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. 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. 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. 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. 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.' 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. 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. Casey writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Adam Geller in New York contributed to this report.
Hamilton Spectator
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
A recap of the trial over the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protesters
BOSTON (AP) — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's campaign of arresting and deporting college faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations spent the first few days of the trial showing how the crackdown silenced scholars and targeted more than 5,000 protesters. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations, is one of the first against President Donald Trump and members of his administration to go to trial. Plaintiffs want U.S. District Judge William Young to rule that the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. The government argues that no such policy exists and that it is enforcing immigration laws legally to protect national security. Investigating protesters One of the key witnesses was Peter Hatch, who works for the Homeland Security Investigations unit within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Over two days of testimony, Hatch told the court how a 'Tiger Team' was formed in March to investigate people who took part in the protests. Its formation followed two executive orders issued by Trump that addressed terrorism and combating antisemitism. Hatch detailed how 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, 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. Until this year, Hatch said, he could not recall a student protester being referred for a visa revocation. '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. 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 co-wrote 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.' Hatch said the right-wing Jewish group Betar was another source. 'It's true many of the names, even most of the names, came from that website, but we were getting names and leads from many different sources,' he testified Wednesday. On Thursday he said he does not know who runs the website nor does he know anyone with the group. Hatch conceded that his team was not instructed to focus solely on leads from Canary Mission. 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 up the job in 2019. What is Canary Mission? Weeks before Khalil's arrest, a spokesman 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 then-incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made the decision to revoke Khalil's visa. 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 the 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 have 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. 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. She detailed 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. The second witness, 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. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
10-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
A recap of the trial over the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protesters
BOSTON (AP) — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's campaign of arresting and deporting college faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations spent the first few days of the trial showing how the crackdown silenced scholars and targeted more than 5,000 protesters. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations, is one of the first against President Donald Trump and members of his administration to go to trial. Plaintiffs want U.S. District Judge William Young to rule that the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. Investigating protesters One of the key witnesses was Peter Hatch, who works for the Homeland Security Investigations unit within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Over two days of testimony, Hatch told the court how a 'Tiger Team' was formed in March to investigate people who took part in the protests. Its formation followed two executive orders issued by Trump that addressed terrorism and combating antisemitism. Hatch detailed how 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, 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. Until this year, Hatch said, he could not recall a student protester being referred for a visa revocation. '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. 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 co-wrote 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.' Hatch said the right-wing Jewish group Betar was another source. 'It's true many of the names, even most of the names, came from that website, but we were getting names and leads from many different sources,' he testified Wednesday. On Thursday he said he does not know who runs the website nor does he know anyone with the group. Hatch conceded that his team was not instructed to focus solely on leads from Canary Mission. 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 up the job in 2019. What is Canary Mission? Weeks before Khalil's arrest, a spokesman 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 then-incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made the decision to revoke Khalil's visa. 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 the 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 have 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. 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. She detailed 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. The second witness, 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.
