"Ideological Deportation": Inside Stephen Miller's Campus Crackdown

Court documents show Trump’s top immigration advisor drove a secretive DHS campaign using activist watchlists to cancel green cards and visas over political speech.

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Jul 11, 2025

WASHINGTON — Newly unsealed court records and sworn testimony reveal that the Trump administration relied extensively on a pro-Israel website called Canary Mission to identify and deport pro-Palestinian foreign students and academics, according to testimony in a federal trial underway in Massachusetts.

The lawsuit, American Association of University Professors v. Trump, alleges that the administration’s actions amount to “ideological deportation” in violation of the First Amendment. Plaintiffs argue the government specifically targeted individuals for their political views and campus activism.

At the center of the revelations is a special Department of Homeland Security task force known internally as the “Tiger Team,” which was assembled in early 2025 to identify noncitizen protestors and revoke their legal immigration status. DHS official Peter Hatch, assistant director for intelligence at Homeland Security Investigations, testified Wednesday that the team compiled “more than 100 reports” from a public list of 5,000 individuals maintained by Canary Mission.

“Most, if not almost all, of the names came from that website,” Hatch said in court. “But we were also getting names and tips from many different websites. We received information about the same protesters from many sources, but Canary Mission provided the most comprehensive information.” Hatch said the names were cross-referenced and verified before inclusion in deportation referrals.

Graphic from recent Canary Mission post naming New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

Canary Mission, which describes itself as documenting “individuals and groups that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews,” denies any coordination with U.S. agencies. In a statement to POLITICO, the group claimed, “We document hatred across the political spectrum, including far-right, far-left, and anti-Israel activists,” and added, “We have had no contact with this administration or the previous one.”

Despite this denial, Hatch confirmed that “more than 75%” of names used by the Tiger Team came from the website. The remaining names, he testified, came primarily from Betar USA, a right-wing Zionist group that also publishes information on pro-Palestinian activists. Hatch said he believed Betar and Canary Mission “overlapped in their lists,” and added that analysts were verbally instructed that Canary Mission had files on “more than 5,000 people.”

In February, the Anti-Defamation League designated Betar USA as an extremist group, citing the organization’s “open embrace of Islamophobia” and its harassment of Muslims and pro-Palestinian activists. Betar USA claimed in social media posts earlier this year that it provided a “deportation list” to the Trump administration, though the group has not responded to requests for comment.

Administration officials say the Canary Mission–sourced reports were part of a broader Trump directive to increase deportations of individuals accused of “anti-Americanism” or “anti-Israel” activity. Hatch defended the creation of the Tiger Team, explaining that regular intelligence units lacked the capacity to process the sheer volume of data. “This shows why we needed a tiger team,” he testified. “A normal unit or group of analysts could not handle this workload.”

The testimonies have also placed senior White House advisor Stephen Miller at the center of the operation. John Armstrong, acting chief of the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, testified that Miller was involved in interagency conference calls “at least once a week,” with meetings lasting from 15 minutes to an hour. Armstrong confirmed that visa policy discussions included Miller, State Department officials, and DHS personnel.

Asked about what constituted anti-Israel or anti-American sentiment in visa denials, Armstrong pointed to political slogans and positions common at campus protests. He testified that the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” could disqualify a visa applicant. “I think it could, because by definition, that means the elimination of Israel and the Israeli people,” he said.

He added that support for boycotts, arms embargoes, or labeling Israel an apartheid state would “probably” also count as disqualifying. However, calls for a ceasefire in Gaza would not affect a visa application, Armstrong testified. “The President has called for a ceasefire. So no.”

The plaintiffs in the case include professors, student organizations, and individuals whose visas were flagged or revoked. So far, courts have blocked several deportation orders, including those against Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil and Turkish scholar Dr. Ozturk, citing likely constitutional violations.

U.S. District Judge William Young, who is presiding over the case in Boston, is expected to rule later this year on whether the administration’s actions unlawfully infringed on political expression protected by the Constitution.

The trial is scheduled to run through July 18. A full transcript of Hatch’s testimony is expected to be released later this week.

Read the court transcripts here.

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