A Mysterious Group Says Its Mission Is to Expose Antisemitic Students

On March 24, an enigmatic organization known as Canary Mission launched a new initiative on its website titled “Uncovering Foreign Nationals.” This development came in direct response to President Trump’s recent executive order aimed at addressing antisemitism.

Canary Mission claims its objective is to expose individuals who, in its view, propagate “hatred against the U.S., Israel, and Jews” on college campuses across North America. In its latest update, the group identified seven individuals, including three current and former professors from Columbia University.

According to Canary Mission, all seven individuals are foreign nationals and could face deportation due to their non-citizen status. These names join the thousands of others previously featured on the site over the past decade, accused of engaging in anti-Israel activism.

Since the Trump administration intensified its immigration enforcement measures last month, at least nine students and professors have faced detention or threats of deportation. Many of them have participated in protests or activism related to Israel’s actions in Gaza. Notably, three of those affected had been featured on Canary Mission’s website.

These recent actions against foreign academics and students—many of whom are accomplished in their fields—have sparked concerns over why they are being singled out. Furthermore, questions have arisen regarding the role that external organizations like Canary Mission play in identifying individuals targeted for deportation.

During a press briefing on Monday, a State Department spokesperson was asked whether lists compiled by outside organizations influenced visa decisions. The spokesperson declined to comment on individual visa cases or discuss whether such lists factored into revocations.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has denied using Canary Mission’s lists in enforcement actions. However, some students who have been approached by federal agents were never featured on the site, while others were. Immigration lawyers and experts suggest that the overlap is more than coincidental, pointing to the possibility that information disseminated by Canary Mission and another pro-Israel group, Betar, may be shaping ICE’s enforcement priorities.

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University, discovered in early March that her photo and résumé had been added to Canary Mission’s website. The site accused her of engaging in “anti-Israel activism”—an apparent reference to an opinion article she co-authored for the Tufts student newspaper criticizing the university’s stance on Israel’s role in the war in Gaza.

On March 25, Ozturk was detained by federal agents roughly two miles from campus in Somerville, Massachusetts. Footage of the arrest quickly went viral, drawing comparisons to authoritarian regimes where political dissenters risk imprisonment.

The inner workings of Canary Mission—its leadership, funding, and origins—remain largely opaque. Unlike traditional nonprofit organizations, the group has never sought tax-exempt status in the U.S., thereby avoiding federal disclosure requirements regarding its financial backers and management. It also does not provide a physical address.

Despite its secrecy, some details about Canary Mission’s funding have surfaced. Investigative reports have linked the group to donations from Jewish philanthropic foundations. In 2021, Jewish Currents reported that businessman Michael Leven, former chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., contributed $50,000 to the organization. Leven stated that his goal was to “identify significant antisemites” and “bring their antisemitism to public attention.” While he temporarily halted his contributions, he confirmed via email that he has since resumed donating.

When questioned about its involvement in deportation cases, Canary Mission denied directly collaborating with federal authorities. “Our investigations into anti-U.S. and antisemitic extremists are publicly available on our website,” the group stated.

Unlike Canary Mission, Betar has openly acknowledged compiling a “deport list” of 3,000 immigrants it claims have supported terrorism, submitting some names to U.S. government officials. “We have provided thousands of names of jihadis to the Trump administration—visitors to America who support Hamas,” Betar said in a statement.

Founded over a century ago, Betar is a Zionist organization that currently operates in 35 countries. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has classified Betar as an extremist group, citing its use of far-right slogans such as “Every Jew, a .22,” its open embrace of Islamophobia, and its history of harassing Muslims both online and in person. Betar has rejected these characterizations, asserting its belief in “the right of every Jew to defend themselves, their families, and their communities.”

On March 13, Betar issued a “deport alert” targeting Momodou Taal, a British-Gambian graduate student at Cornell University who was later flagged by ICE. The State Department revoked Taal’s visa on March 14—just one day after Betar’s alert was posted.

Taal announced on social media that he had decided to leave the U.S., choosing to forgo a lengthy legal battle.

Jonathan Wallace, a lawyer representing one of the individuals listed on Canary Mission’s “Uncovering Foreign Nationals” page, described the group as “a predator in the current political ecosystem.” Critics argue that the publication of such lists constitutes doxxing—the malicious exposure of personal information to endanger or harass individuals.

“Unfortunately, one of the surest ways to get ICE at your door is if you’re being actively doxxed,” Wallace remarked. He represents Mohamed Abdou, a former visiting professor at Columbia University whose contract was not renewed and who was subsequently featured on Canary Mission’s latest list.

Dr. Abdou was one of seven individuals named, alongside two graduate students—Mahmoud Khalil and Momodou Taal—both of whom had already been targeted by immigration authorities prior to the list’s publication. Khalil was arrested at his residence near Columbia University on March 8, while Taal saw his visa revoked days later.

Canary Mission has compiled over 2,000 profiles since its inception, with some entries dating back to 2015. While the site primarily targets individuals accused of anti-Israel activism, its scope extends beyond foreign nationals; many listed are American students and professors who have participated in campus protests. Several Jewish activists have also been featured.

Zachary Lockman, a professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, views Canary Mission as part of a broader effort to undermine critics of Israeli government policies. He argues that this campaign has intensified since the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, and the ensuing war in Gaza.

“This has been happening for decades,” Lockman noted. “But since October 7, it has escalated dramatically. And now, with Trump’s policies, the government is actively supporting these efforts.”

Andrew Ross, a professor at NYU specializing in social and cultural analysis, has been listed on Canary Mission’s site for years. He emphasized the serious repercussions of being targeted.

“If you appear on Canary Mission, you face harassment, intimidation, and campaigns aimed at getting you fired,” Ross said. “Character assassination and death threats are common. I’ve personally experienced all of that.”

Because of the website’s search engine prominence, a Canary Mission profile is often one of the first results when searching an individual’s name.

Lockman warned that the consequences can be particularly severe for students of Muslim heritage.

In 2018, the Middle East Studies Association published a report titled “Exposing Canary Mission,” likening the group’s tactics to the McCarthy-era Red Scare. The report accused Canary Mission of relying on “misinformation, selective omissions, out-of-context quotations, and guilt by association.”

Even before the Hamas attack on Israel, Canary Mission had drawn condemnation. In 2023, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley’s law school, publicly criticized the group, arguing that its activities had “inflicted significant harm on students and their communities.”

Ross noted that some individuals have tried to appease Canary Mission by publicly renouncing past pro-Palestinian positions. Those who do so are sometimes reclassified as “Ex-Canary” on the website—a designation that signals their public disavowal of previous activism.