The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has admitted to using a controversial pro-Israel website to identify students for investigation, US media outlets reported.
Senior DHS investigations official Peter Hatch testified on the third day of a trial in the city of Boston on Wednesday that the majority of student protester names flagged for agency review were sourced from Canary Mission, NBC News reported.
The anonymous organisation known as Canary Mission operates a detailed online database that targets students, professors and others it falsely accuses of holding "anti-Semitic" views.
Canary Mission said in an email to NBC News that it has not collaborated with the DHS, emphasising that its database is publicly accessible.
"We have had no contact with this administration or the previous administration," it said.
The plaintiffs in the trial, including the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the Middle East Studies Association and three other academic organizations, argue that the deportations infringed on First Amendment rights of the US Constitution.
US District Judge William Young pressed Hatch on how student names were provided to the agency.
'More than 75 percent' of names
Hatch explained that a "tiger team" of analysts was formed, pulling personnel from the counterterrorism unit, to assess student protesters for potential national security risks.
He said the team was directed to examine the website’s database, but "Canary Mission is not part of the US government" and "we do not work with the individuals who create the website."
The Middle East Studies Association of North America stated that, beyond accusations of doxxing and harassment, the site has also been accused of making personal attacks that portray pro-Palestine and anti-Gaza genocide activists as being in "support of terrorism."
"During the deposition, Hatch testified that 'more than 75 percent' of the names of student protesters his agency was asked to probe came from the website," CNN reported.
Hatch stated that the list from the Canary Mission website contained over 5,000 people, which analysts from his Office of Intelligence and Analysis had to review, CNN added.
Hatch reportedly stated Canary Mission was the most inclusive student group, though not the only one, with some students appearing in multiple sources.
