App tracking ICE agents tops App Store after Trump Administration backlash

[Skye Jacobs]

In a nutshell: A smartphone application designed to alert users to nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity has ignited a national debate after surging to the top of the Apple App Store. The app, known as ICEBlock, allows individuals to anonymously report sightings of ICE agents and share those reports with others in their vicinity, providing what its creator calls an "early warning system" for communities facing immigration enforcement actions.

ICEBlock's rapid rise in popularity followed a wave of criticism from senior officials in the Trump administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to a CNN segment about the app by calling it "obstruction of justice" and warning that it could endanger federal officers. "Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500% increase in assaults against them," Noem wrote on X. "If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons also condemned the app, describing it as "reckless and irresponsible" and arguing that it "paints a target on federal law enforcement officers' backs."

This sure looks like obstruction of justice. Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500% increase in assaults against them.

If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. pic.twitter.com/4ZcfrpyRV1

– Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) June 30, 2025

The controversy has only fueled interest in ICEBlock. According to its developer, Texas-based software engineer Joshua Aaron, the app saw its user base jump from a few thousand to over 30,000 in a matter of days, with the majority of users concentrated in Los Angeles – one of the cities most affected by recent ICE raids. Aaron, who built and financed the app independently, said he was motivated by what he saw as an urgent need to help communities stay informed. "When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back," Aaron told CNN. He compared the current climate to "history repeat[ing] itself," referencing the mass deportation efforts underway.

ICEBlock is available exclusively on iOS and does not require users to sign up. Reports are limited to one per user every five minutes and are automatically deleted after a few hours to prevent outdated information from circulating. The app does not ask for personally identifiable information, such as a name, phone number, or postal address. ICEBlock is also translated into more than a dozen languages to serve a diverse user base.

The app's developer insists that ICEBlock is meant "to inform, not obstruct," and a message within the app explicitly instructs users not to use it to incite violence or interfere with law enforcement.

As the debate continues, ICEBlock remains at the center of a broader conversation about technology, privacy, and the limits of community self-protection in the face of aggressive immigration enforcement. The app's presence on the App Store has prompted further scrutiny, but Apple has not issued a public response to requests for comment.

Permalink to story:

App tracking ICE agents tops App Store after Trump Administration backlash

 

[opckieran]

I used ICEBlock to shut down a couple of noisy nighttime parties. Worked like a charm.

 

[GeoffreyA]

The Combine doesn't like the Resistance. Where is the Freeman when people need him?

 

[madboyv1]

The (quasi-)Streisand effect strikes again!

 

[pnntmp]

There should be an app to report illegal criminals to ICE, not an app that informs the illegal criminals.

The vast majority of phones with this ICEBlock installed belong to illegal criminals, it can be used to easily locate them and get rid of them.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Every Administration prior could have solved the immigration problem but were more concerned about winning votes.

 

[OortCloud]

Wonder when Donald is going to order his first pair of jackboots and his skull and crossbones insignias?

 

[torvuswalds]

There should be an app to report illegal criminals to ICE, not an app that informs the illegal criminals.

The vast majority of phones with this ICEBlock installed belong to illegal criminals, it can be used to easily locate them and get rid of them.

How would you know someone is illegal though?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

There should be an app to report illegal criminals to ICE, not an app that informs the illegal criminals.

The vast majority of phones with this ICEBlock installed belong to illegal criminals, it can be used to easily locate them and get rid of them.

-YEAH!

We should also throw everyone with WAZE installed in Alligator Alcatraz too cause it shows where speed traps are, causing reckless endangerment of local police budgets and their quotas!

Hell, we should just throw everyone in jail! Easier that way! We're all guilty in the eyes of God after all!

 

[opckieran]

How would you know someone is illegal though?

You sic ICE on ‘em to run fingerprints.

 

[torvuswalds]

You sic ICE on ‘em to run fingerprints.

On who? If that is the case I could call ICE on everyone and have them run their fingerprints.

 

[opckieran]

On who? If that is the case I could call ICE on everyone and have them run their fingerprints.

ICE typically knows in advance or is able to figure out very quickly if somebody is here illegally, with a high level of accuracy too. So, just sic ICE on 'em. Fingerprints optional (and is admittedly a bit of artistic hyperbole, but it appears that wasn't as obvious as I thought it'd be...)

 

[airbornex]

It’s telling that the government’s strongest reaction isn’t to the functionality of the app itself, but to the idea of visibility. Real-time public information can change the power dynamic.

 

[torvuswalds]

ICE typically knows in advance or is able to figure out very quickly if somebody is here illegally, with a high level of accuracy too. So, just sic ICE on 'em. Fingerprints optional (and is admittedly a bit of artistic hyperbole, but it appears that wasn't as obvious as I thought it'd be...)

Yeah, you are being a bit too hyperbolic right now. What is your idea then? If ICE is so successful at capturing them illegals like you say, how come we see them arresting American citizens? What are their criteria to identify if someone is illegal or not?

 

[nnguy2]

Yeah, you are being a bit too hyperbolic right now. What is your idea then? If ICE is so successful at capturing them illegals like you say, how come we see them arresting American citizens? What are their criteria to identify if someone is illegal or not?

Obviously you pull out the brown scale and look at their skin. The browner the more illegal.

 

[torvuswalds]

Obviously you pull out the brown scale and look at their skin. The browner the more illegal.

Just trying to goad them into saying it. Its like that scene from family guy. I think that is what he is just dancing around.

 

[opckieran]

Yeah, you are being a bit too hyperbolic right now. What is your idea then? If ICE is so successful at capturing them illegals like you say, how come we see them arresting American citizens? What are their criteria to identify if someone is illegal or not?

In my first comment, I was slightly, but not thereafter. You've just chosen to take offense to the idea that ICE should allowed to do its job, which is literally what Trump promised. That's not a "me" problem bud.

And of the multiple hundreds of thousands of illegals removed under Trump, how many Americans have been deported as a result? It's about 0.01% of the time an American is somehow deported, going by the handful of stories that have emerged vs the enormous number of successful removals of illegals. The point is, this operation's success rate is extremely high, especially for a government agency.



I'm not an ICE employee so as to the specifics of their criteria for deportation I'd imagine it look something like:

Does the person have US birth certificate and a SSN that wasn't stolen (we hate identity theft here, right)?

If not, is their visa still valid?

Are they on a valid visa but are demonstrating a credible threat to the safety/security of the United States and are thereby in violation of the terms of their visa?

Seems pretty reasonable to me to be concerned about this sort of stuff...



I will also say, closing the border and thereby starving the drug-trafficking, human-trafficking and ch*ld-exploitation operations of the criminal cartels is *chef's kiss*.

But now, you, tell me why we shouldn't.

Obviously you pull out the brown scale and look at their skin. The browner the more illegal.

Just trying to goad them into saying it. Its like that scene from family guy. I think that is what he is just dancing around.

(This mentality of everyone who isn't hard left is a rayciss is why y'all lost bigly with the "browner" voters in '24 by the way!)

 

[torvuswalds]

In my first comment, I was slightly, but not thereafter. You've just chosen to take offense to the idea that ICE should allowed to do its job, which is literally what Trump promised. That's not a "me" problem bud.

And of the multiple hundreds of thousands of illegals removed under Trump, how many Americans have been deported as a result? It's about 0.01% of the time an American is somehow deported, going by the handful of stories that have emerged vs the enormous number of successful removals of illegals. The point is, this operation's success rate is extremely high, especially for a government agency.



I'm not an ICE employee so as to the specifics of their criteria for deportation I'd imagine it look something like:

Does the person have US birth certificate and a SSN that wasn't stolen (we hate identity theft here, right)?

If not, is their visa still valid?

Are they on a valid visa but are demonstrating a credible threat to the safety/security of the United States and are thereby in violation of the terms of their visa?

Seems pretty reasonable to me to be concerned about this sort of stuff...



I will also say, closing the border and thereby starving the drug-trafficking, human-trafficking and ch*ld-exploitation operations of the criminal cartels is *chef's kiss*.

But now, you, tell me why we shouldn't.






(This mentality of everyone who isn't hard left is a rayciss is why y'all lost bigly with the "browner" voters in '24 by the way!)

Okay, I am taking huge offense at this.

Your initial idea was to report "suspected" illegals to ICE in fact you used the term "sic", I asked you WHO, yet you tip toed around answering my question. Now you are using genuinely vague data on how ICE determines if someone is illegal or not. To go into further detail, closing the border takes those children, moms and dads, and puts them more into the cartels that are patrolling the border who will now face MORE drug trafficking, and the others you listed, which shows your lack of basic humanity and decency, the border was also never "open" like you claim, there was a steady decrease of encounters at the border before tRump took office, and true the Democrats lost alot of the votes for the latino community, we still do not understand why because he ran on a platform of deport all the illegals and suddenly everyone is all pikachu face about being selected by ICE for random arrest to prove their citizenship.

 

[axiomatic13]

Someone needs to prove to me that the ICE officers are actually "officers" and not militia cosplayers.

 

[nnguy2]

Just trying to goad them into saying it. Its like that scene from family guy. I think that is what he is just dancing around.

Exactly. I had the same scene in my head.

 

[nnguy2]

In my first comment, I was slightly, but not thereafter. You've just chosen to take offense to the idea that ICE should allowed to do its job, which is literally what Trump promised. That's not a "me" problem

I'm not an ICE employee so as to the specifics of their criteria for deportation I'd imagine it look something like:

Does the person have US birth certificate and a SSN that wasn't stolen (we hate identity theft here, right)?

If not, is their visa still valid?

Are they on a valid visa but are demonstrating a credible threat to the safety/security of the United States and are thereby in violation of the terms of their visa?

Seems pretty reasonable to me to be concerned about this sort of stuff...



I will also say, closing the border and thereby starving the drug-trafficking, human-trafficking and ch*ld-exploitation operations of the criminal cartels is *chef's kiss*.

But now, you, tell me why we shouldn't.






(This mentality of everyone who isn't hard left is a rayciss is why y'all lost bigly with the "browner" voters in '24 by the way!)

You literally said you can tell who's illegal by looking at them.

 

[pnntmp]

-YEAH!

We should also throw everyone with WAZE installed in Alligator Alcatraz too cause it shows where speed traps are, causing reckless endangerment of local police budgets and their quotas!

Hell, we should just throw everyone in jail! Easier that way! We're all guilty in the eyes of God after all!

The vast majority of WAZE users are not illegal criminals, so the purpose of this incoherent rant escapes me.
In case you feel guilty in the eyes of your particular God, ask her for guidance. Or turn yourself in. Illegal criminals should not go to jail, by the way, because they are foreign criminals and should be a burden to their respective countries. There is no reason whatsoever to keep them here. The US should remove the illegals from the country as fast and as cheap as possible, that's all. No jail.

 

[Hexic]

Oh look, obstruction - clear as day. Can’t say I’m surprised.

“To inform, not obstruct” is an hilariously weak defense.

 

[Hexic]

Someone needs to prove to me that the ICE officers are actually "officers" and not militia cosplayers.

…what? I’ll take the “POLICE” stamped on their Kevlar vests as fairly solid confirmation.