Good morning. Today we’re bringing you takeaways from a Globe investigation into a hard-line group that is claiming credit for the Trump administration’s efforts to deport foreign students.
But first, here’s what else is going on:
- The Trump administration sued Maine for letting transgender athletes compete in girls sports, accusing it of discriminating against women. Maine’s Democratic governor said her state will defend the rule of law.
- Harvard told researchers whose grants the administration froze to limit spending and cease hiring as the administration reportedly moves to revoke the school’s tax-exempt status.
- Greater Boston’s housing market has been a roller coaster. Here’s the Globe’s list of the 36 best places in the area to buy, based on demand.
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TODAY’S STARTING POINT
You’ve probably heard that the Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of international students studying in the US, including scores in New England. Immigration agents have also detained and sought to deport several, including a Tufts PhD student and a Columbia student arrested this week in Vermont.
What you may not have heard is that the administration seems to have had help.
A handful of pro-Israel groups are publicly taking credit for some of the government’s recent arrests. One such group is Betar, a century-old Zionist organization whose mantra is “Jews Fight Back.” In recent months, Betar’s US branch has compiled a list of allegedly pro-Palestinian students it believes the administration should deport.
My colleagues on the Globe’s Spotlight team have just published an investigation into Betar’s work. Here are five takeaways.
1. From ‘gadflies’ to influencers
Betar isn’t new to this. Last fall, it criticized prosecutors in Newton for charging a supporter of Israel who shot a pro-Palestinian man at a rally there, urging businesses to boycott the city. Yet Betar’s influence was limited. The Newton boycott fizzled, and local officials considered the group “very fringe.”
President Trump’s inauguration, however, seems to have given it new reach. An attorney for Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts PhD student detained last month, said that Betar and groups like it were once seen as “gadflies.” Now, he and other lawyers for targeted students believe the administration is “more than willing to act on the information” Betar provides.
2. Betar has targeted New England students
That information came in the form of a list of dozens of allegedly pro-Palestinian students that Betar says it gave to the Trump administration. According to the group, the students’ offenses include pro-Hamas advocacy, as well as jaywalking and a noise complaint.
So far, the administration has targeted at least seven of the people Betar listed, including Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia student immigration officials arrested in Vermont this week.
3. But its list has major errors
While Betar wouldn’t give the Globe a copy of its list, my colleagues found a version briefly posted on the group’s website. It featured the names, photos, and descriptions of 77 people.
Some of Betar’s entries, however, appear to be completely wrong. In one case, the group listed the name and photo of a woman wearing a hijab, identifying her as a Nigerian Harvard student who spoke at a pro-Hamas rally. Contacted by the Globe, the woman said she’s never visited the US, attended Harvard, or been to a pro-Hamas rally, calling Betar’s claims “completely false.”
Betar made similar mistakes in describing at least two other students it listed, my colleagues found. “Go to hell,” a Betar spokesperson said in response to their questions. “Who are you to judge us?”
4. Betar’s influence is unclear
The administration isn’t trumpeting any associations with Betar so far, telling the Globe that State Department staff make decisions about visas. Ross Glick, a former Betar employee who spoke to the Globe, wouldn’t say who in the administration received Betar’s list.
But the group does seem to be well connected. A public relations executive named Ronn Torossian, who founded Betar US last spring, has organized fund-raisers for Mayor Eric Adams of New York and done work for the foundation of Eric Trump, the president’s middle son.
Glick also claims to have made inroads with lawmakers. He has said he met with Senator John Fetterman, a pro-Israel Pennsylvania Democrat, and with aides to two Senate Republicans, Ted Cruz and James Lankford. In statements to the Globe, Fetterman denied “any involvement” with Betar, while Lankford’s aides said they have no evidence that anyone from the group met with the senator or his staff. Cruz’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
5. The group says there’s more to come
So far, Betar seems unbothered by those disavowals. Its website says it hopes to establish 25 chapters in the US this year, and it has raised tens of thousands of dollars on GoFundMe.
Betar isn’t alone in highlighting the Trump administration’s supposed ideological foes. Canary Mission, another pro-Israel group, has also compiled names of allegedly anti-Israel students. Turning Point USA, a right-wing campus group, publicly lists professors it claims “discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
Betar isn’t done, either. This week, the group predicted that immigration officials would soon target students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As Glick, the former Betar employee, told the Globe, “We want to help our government.”
Read more:
- Explore my colleagues’ full story here.
- ICE has also used a little-known government database to terminate foreign students’ legal status in the US, sometimes without giving a reason.
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POINTS OF INTEREST
Boston
- Assurance: Staff for Josh Kraft’s mayoral campaign lack workers’ compensation insurance, an apparent violation of state law. The campaign called it an “oversight” that it would fix.
- Scam alert: Police warned of fraudulent emails that falsely claim Bostonians owe parking ticket fines.
- Bruins blues: After the team missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years, CEO Charlie Jacobs wrote a letter saying he shared fans’ disappointment. Read it here.
- Legacy project: The Fieldhouse+, a $70 million athletic center near Columbia Point in Dorchester, honors a Boston Marathon bombing victim. Groundbreaking is set for today.
- The former guy: Joe Biden met with Harvard Kennedy School students at the invitation of his longtime adviser Mike Donilon.
Massachusetts and New England
- No more room: Governor Maura Healey’s administration has capped enrollment in a Massachusetts program that helps elders avoid ending up in nursing homes.
- Systemic issue: Teacher turnover is highest at Massachusetts schools where most students are nonwhite.
- Cutting corners: Five members of New Hampshire’s Commission on Government Efficiency, which its Republican governor named after Elon Musk’s DOGE, were ineligible to serve because of missing paperwork.
Trump administration
- Rescue mission: Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, flew to El Salvador to try to free a man the administration wrongly deported from his state. Officials there blocked Van Hollen from seeing or speaking with the man. (Politico)
- Immigration case: A judge found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt for sending deportation flights to El Salvador despite his order not to. (NBC)
- Sowing confusion: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to determine what causes autism by September is wildly unrealistic, researchers say. His claims about the condition also contradict the CDC, which he now leads. (Axios)
- Setting expectations: Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, said he anticipates higher inflation and lower growth because of Trump’s tariffs. Stocks fell. (CNBC)
- Tariff lawsuit: California is contesting Trump’s power to levy tariffs without Congress’s approval. (LA Times)
- Second brancth: Trump declared an emergency to try to expand logging in US forests. New England environmentalists say it’s an effort to bypass public input.
The Nation and the World
- In the dark: Puerto Rico experienced an islandwide blackout, its second in less than four months. (CBS)
- Protests continue: Police used stun guns to subdue demonstrators at a town hall for Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right House Republican. (AJC)
- Transgender rights: Trans women are not legally women under a UK anti-discrimination law, the country’s top court ruled. (BBC)
BESIDE THE POINT
By Teresa Hanafin
🫎 Animal alert: A majestic herd of migrating moose in Sweden is captivating millions watching a livestream. (NY Post) Bald eagle fans are anxiously awaiting the departure of hatchlings Sunny and Gizmo from their California nest. (Instagram)
👟 Running hot: With the Boston Marathon taking center stage Monday, here are some of the biggest influencers in the running world.
⛹🏻♀️ Women’s sports are lit: USA Today launched a website called Studio IX (echoing Title IX?), Roku is starting a weekly studio show, and much more. (Axios)
📺 TV review: Star Wars spinoff “Andor” offers an emotionally compelling story about fascism that’s unique among Star Wars shows. The second season starts April 22 on Disney+.
🩴🩴 Two big flops: Yup, Fyre Fest 2 has been postponed. Are we surprised? (The Cut) And YouTube star MrBeast had to apologize when an “immersive” Vegas experience flopped, leaving angry attendees demanding refunds. (BBC)
🚗 Downsize and save: Kia has introduced an affordable electric sedan ($35k) in hopes that drivers will forego their obsession with SUVs. (TechCrunch)
🤿 Underwater: Libertarians have long looked at ocean living as the next frontier. Some wealthy men — techno-utopians — are testing the waters. (NYT)
Thanks for reading Starting Point.
This newsletter was edited by Teresa Hanafin and produced by Diamond Naga Siu.
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Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at ian.philbrick@globe.com.