(Credit: ICEBlock)
As immigration arrests spike nationwide, a new mobile app that crowdsources the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents is ruffling feathers at the Department of Justice (DOJ), which says it puts agents in harm's way.
Dubbed ICEBlock, the app is modeled off the Waze navigation app, and crowdsources agent sightings from users. It's free and anonymous, no login required. Users only need to enter the address of a sighting; they can fill out an optional Notes field with more information. It displays reported sightings within a 5-mile radius of someone's location and updates in real time. The app has no advertisements and can be translated into 13 languages besides English.
(Credit: ICEBlock/Apple App Store)"In recent years, ICE has faced criticism for alleged civil rights abuses and failures to adhere to constitutional principles and due process, making it crucial for communities to stay informed about its operations," says the app's website.
Nationwide ICE arrests are up 124% this year compared with 2024, according to data from The New York Times. Some states have had an even sharper increase; in Florida, arrests are up 219%. Only 8% have been convicted of violent crimes, CBS News reports.
ICEBlock creator Joshua Aaron tells CNN he designed it as an "early warning" system. "When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back," he says, likening the deportation efforts to Nazi Germany. "We’re literally watching history repeat itself."
Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed the app and told Aaron to "watch out," Fox News reports. She says it could cause federal agents to be injured amid a 500% increase in ICE agent assaults, echoing concerns from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who says the app is "encouraging violence" and condemned CNN for covering it.
"Our ICE agents, all of our federal agents who are working hand in hand on these task force[s]—our federal agents from the Justice Department could be injured," says Bondi. "He's giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are. And he cannot do that. And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that's not a protected speech. That is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country."
Tom Homan, White House Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, tells Fox News that he's "begging" the DoJ to look into the app and CNN's coverage of it.
Earlier this year, Homan also asked the DoJ to look into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after she hosted a "Know Your Rights" webinar with guidance on how to interact with ICE.
The ICEBlock app only has 20,000 users, according to CNN. Most are in Los Angeles, where hundreds of residents filled the streets last month for anti-ICE protests, causing the president to bring in the National Guard, NBC News reports. The protests were mostly nonviolent, though some protesters took to looting, vandalism, and setting Waymo robotaxis on fire.