App against US immigration authorities in 1st place after government criticism
A crowdsourcing app against deportation operations in the USA has been heavily criticized by the US government. This helped the app to become a success.
(Image: Ilkin Zeferli / shutterstock.com)
Speak of the devil and he will come – The old adage seems to be proving true in the USA in the case of an app that is directed against US immigration policy. The US government actually wanted to publicly vilify the iPhone app called "ICEBlock", which uses crowdsourcing to publicize ICE's immigration operations. Instead, the criticism really helped the app to become a success. In the USA, it has topped the list of free social networking apps in the App Store since various US media outlets began reporting on it.
ICEBlock works on the same principle as the map app Waze: users can mark sightings of operations against people without a residence permit on a map and also add details such as the officers' clothing or vehicle types. Other users within a five-mile radius then receive a push notification about the reported activity.
Only for iOS for data protection reasons
Developer Joshua Aaron developed the app in April 2025 in response to the Trump administration's tightened immigration policy. Originally, ICEBlock had around 20,000 users, mainly in Los Angeles, where ICE raids occur more frequently.
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According to Aaron, the app deliberately does not collect any personal data such as device IDs or IP addresses, a claim that the US tech portal TechCrunch was able to confirm in tests. ICEBlock is only available for iOS as, according to the developer, development for Android would require the collection of information that could put users at risk. To protect against misuse, users can only submit reports within a five-mile radius of their location and only every five minutes at most. The app explicitly warns that it is "for information and notification purposes only" and must not be used to incite violence or obstruct law enforcement action.
"Incitement to violence"
The government reacted with unusually harsh criticism of the app and its media coverage. Justice Minister Pam Bondi publicly threatened the developer. Other officials also strongly condemned the app. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt spoke of "incitement to further violence" against ICE officials.
(mki)
