The Justice Department reportedly reached out to Apple to take down ICEBlock and similar apps, citing security risks to immigration enforcement officers.
The Justice Department reportedly reached out to Apple to take down ICE Block and similar apps, citing security risks to immigration enforcement officers.
ICEBlock App is seen on an Apple smartphone screen
The immigration enforcement tracking app enables users to report ICE agent sightings in real Time
Tech company Apple removed ICEBlock — the most popular app to track the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — and similar apps from its App Store, it said on Thursday after it was contacted by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The ICEBlock app alerts users to ICE agents in the area, allowing them to evacuate migrants who may be arrested.
Curtailing illegal immigration has been one of the central domestic policies in Trump’s second term at the White House. However, reports suggest that ICE agents, often in masks using unmarked vans, have also detained permanent US residents, visa holders and those involved in pro-Palestinian
The Justice Department reportedly reached out to Apple to take down ICEBlock and similar apps, citing security risks to immigration enforcement officers.
The immigration enforcement tracking app enables users to report ICE agent sightings in real time
Tech company Apple removed ICEBlock — the most popular app to track the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — and similar apps from its App Store, it said on Thursday after it was contacted by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The ICEBlock app alerts users to ICE agents in the area, allowing them to evacuate migrants who may be arrested.
Curtailing illegal immigration has been one of the central domestic policies in Trump’s second term at the White House. However, reports suggest that ICE agents, often in masks using unmarked vans, have also detained permanent US residents, visa holders and those involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy.
People holding signs in protest of ICE immigration raids in WashingtonPeople holding signs in protest of ICE immigration raids in Washington
Protests against immigration raids have occurred at ICE facilities and other key government sites across the
US broadcast channel Fox Business reported on the app’s removal and cited US Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the Justice Department had contacted Apple to pull the app from the platform.
The US Justice Department and Trump’s administration have said the apps endanger officers by increasing the risk of assault on ICE agents.
“ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed,” Bondi said in her statement to Fox Business.
The criticism has increased after a shooting at an ICE facility in Texas in September killed two detainees and injured another.
