The creator of ICEBlock, the iPhone app that lets users report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, has no plans of stopping despite growing criticism from some public officials. The app, which launched in April, has risen in popularity as ICE operations intensify under President Donald Trump.
Joshua Aaron, the app’s creator, told Straight Arrow News he expected the pushback.
“I knew what I was signing up for when I created the app,” Aaron said. “And I spoke with multiple constitutional and criminal attorneys before releasing it.”
Avoiding ICE, or obstructing justice?
ICEBlock, according to the app’s website, is an “innovative, completely anonymous crowdsourced platform” for reporting the location of ICE agents throughout the country.
“ICEBlock empowers communities to stay informed about ICE presence within a 5-mile radius while maintaining their anonymity through real-time updates and automatic deletion of sightings after four hours,” the website says.
ICEBlock joins websites such as ICEspy.org, which lets users upload photos of suspected ICE agents. They can then use facial recognition software to compare the pictures with photos of known ICE employees on LinkedIn.
Aaron said ICEBlock is aimed at helping people avoid interactions with ICE, not to encourage interference with law enforcement. However, the platform – now with 100,000 users, Aaron said – has come under strong criticism by Trump administration officials.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the app as an “obstruction of justice.” Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, called reporting on the app, particularly from CNN, “reckless and irresponsible.” The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters the app was “encouraging violence against law enforcement officers who are trying to keep our country safe.”
‘On the right path’
Aaron described the criticisms as “crazy.” If the app is “getting under their skin,” he said, “we’re obviously on the right path.”
As far as he knows, the Trump administration has not pressured Apple to remove ICEBlock from its app store.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Straight Arrow News. The company reviewed the app for several weeks before its release, Aaron said.
“During the initial app review we went back and forth for three weeks with both the app review team and their legal department, because nothing like this has ever been done before,” Aaron said. “Apple’s legal team thoroughly vetted it, as I’m sure they wanted to protect themselves from legal implications, too.”
‘Overwhelm the system’
ICEBlock is facing other obstacles on social media.
Supporters of the administration’s immigration policies have called on their followers to flood ICEBlock with fraudulent information.
On X, a user known as “Chief Trumpster” asked his 93,000 followers to post false reports that ICE agents are at supermarkets and hardware stores so they can “watch the illegals flee the area.”
“Overwhelm the system!” another X user, who calls himself “Bad Hombre,” wrote to his 164,000 followers. “I’ve done five so far today.”
Neither X user responded to requests for comment.
It is unclear whether attempts to overwhelm the app have worked. However, a suspected distributed denial-of-service attack hit the website on Tuesday, July 1. Aaron said the attack was quickly contained.
Aaron said ICEBlock was designed to limit the effects of tampering by removing all reports after four hours. Further, users must wait at least five minutes between posts.
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Author: Ally Heath
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