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ICE Official Says Canary Mission List Fueled 5,000-Name Campus Protest Probe

A bench trial in Boston heard that ICE’s new 'Tiger Team' relied heavily on the Canary Mission blacklist to produce hundreds of reports used to target student visas.

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Protesters rally in support of detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil in March in New York.
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Overview

  • Peter Hatch testified that ICE analysts reviewed over 5,000 names of campus protesters, with more than 75% drawn from the Canary Mission website.
  • He said analysts treated third-party lists as investigative leads rather than definitive sources and conducted independent vetting before compiling between 100 and 200 analysis reports.
  • The Department of Homeland Security formed the specialized 'Tiger Team' in March by reallocating counterterrorism, cyber and trade analysts to gather intelligence on student protests.
  • Under the three-step process described by Hatch, Homeland Security Investigations drafted reports, the National Security Division summarized findings and the State Department acted on visa and deportation decisions.
  • Civil rights groups and academic associations have sued, arguing the ideological deportation campaign violates free speech and due process as a federal judge weighs its legality.