Oct. 3 (UPI) — Apple has removed an app from its App Store that alerts users if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are near their location after complaints from the Department of Justice that it puts agents’ safety at risk.
Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier Thursday ordered the Justice Department to have Apple remove ICEBlock after agents had been doxxed and threatened, specifically in the wake of a shooting last week at an ICE detention site in Dallas.
“We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so,” Bondi said in a statement to Fox News. “ICEBlock is designed to put agents at risk for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed.”
ICEBlock is a free, iPhone-only anonymous app modeled after the traffic app Waze that allows users to report sightings of ICE agents and operations without revealing personal data that could be traced back to individuals on the app, according to the app’s website. If ICE agents are within a 5-mile radius of a user, the app alerts the user to their presence.
“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,” the company said in a statement to NewsNation and The Hill. “Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety and risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.”
The app was launched a few months after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January and he ramped up efforts to deport millions of people alleged to be in the country illegally. The app has gained widespread use and attention as ICE raids around the country have increasingly targeted offices, schools and immigration courts, NBC News reported.
In a social media post, the app’s developers said Apple informed them ICEBlock had been removed from the App Store due to “objectionable content,” but they contended that “the only thing we can imagine is this is due to pressure from the Trump Admin. We have responded and we’ll fight this!”
In July, as use of the grew and federal law enforcement officials became aware of it, Border Czar Tom Homan called the app’s existence “disgusting” and that he could not “believe we live in a world where men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys,” The Hill reported at the time.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said in July that she was working with DOJ to determine if the app’s creators could be prosecuted for developing the app or potentially endangering agents.
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