Trump administration threatens to prosecute developer of ICE tracking app
App helps crowdsource the location of ICE agents
ICEBlock app helps people notify others of the location of immigration enforcement officers in real time
SAN FRANCISCO - The Trump administration is blasting a new app designed to warn people about the presence of immigration officers in their vicinity. The administration is threatening to prosecute the app developer and a media outlet for reporting on it.
Incidents where crowds confront immigration officers are becoming more common as the Trump administration continues to push for 3,000 arrests per day. Technology may now play a role with an app called ICEBlock.
Joshua Aaron, the app developer, said it allows users to post the location of immigration officers conducting arrests or other activities.
"You can put them in the drop pin, if you will. We call it reporting sightings, and it’s just to alert others around you within a 5-mile radius and the goal is to inform not obstruct," said Aaron. "We say that multiple times in the app"
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Aaron first posted ICEBlock in the app store at the beginning of April. It has grown tremendously in popularity, so much so that the Trump administration has taken notice.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has warned Aaron to "watch out," saying he may be prosecuted because the app threatens the lives of law enforcement officers.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is considering prosecuting not only the app developer but also at least one media agency that reported on the app.
"What they're doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities and operations, and we're actually going to go after them and prosecute them with the partnership of Pam if we can," Noem said.
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Aaron said the increased focus has pushed the app to the top of the Apple Store's social app downloads. He said, contrary to what the administration claims, the aim of ICEBlock is to reduce the likelihood of violent encounters.
He compared the app to a navigation app that helps users avoid red-light cameras or speed traps.
"You see a speed trap ahead, you slow down, use a little bit more caution, and that’s the end of it," Aaron said. "All you have to do is avoid confrontation altogether."
Regarding the possibility of prosecution, law professor David Levine from UC School of Law San Francisco said it is unlikely prosecutors would prevail against the developer, users, or the media for reporting on ICEBlock, as it boils down to a First Amendment issue.
"These cases should be easily defeated in court if and when they're brought," Levine said. "You know, this might just be the threat of the day, the bluff of the day."
The app is still available on the app store. Aaron said he has no plans to take it down or monetize it. He said he's funding it himself and will continue to do so until he believes it's no longer needed.