The University of Michigan in the U.S. is using undercover investigators to follow pro-Palestinian student protesters, according to a report released Friday.

Students said the private investigators were hired by the university located in the city of Ann Arbor in the state of Michigan, 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) west of the city of Detroit, and have been following them both on and off campus, recording them on video and eavesdropping on their conversations.

According to the British daily The Guardian, student protesters also said the surveillance appears to be largely a harassment and intimidation tactic.

The undercover investigators have cursed at them, threatened them, and in one case, one of them allegedly drove a car at a student who had to jump out of the vehicle's way, they added.

Students said they have identified dozens of undercover investigators, often working in teams, and confronted them. Just like in the movies, the teams have been discovered sitting at nearby tables at cafes and bars, tracking the students whenever they meet. In one case, which was recorded on video, a man who had been trailing the student faked disabilities and falsely accused the student of attempting to rob him.

The surveillance has been increasing in the wake of recent raids on students authorized by Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the FBI, students told the Guardian.

The University of Michigan did not deny the surveillance and told the newspaper that it had not received any complaints about the investigators.

"Any security measures in place are solely focused on maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and are never directed at individuals or groups based on their beliefs or affiliations," the university said in a statement.

"The way that the university is now responding to student activism with a massive expansion of surveillance, through plainclothes cops, and proliferation of security cameras, is very alarming," Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, one of the students charged with trespassing, said in an interview with the Guardian.