As immigration raids continue nationwide, a controversial new iOS app that alerts users to ICE activity has sparked a full-blown political and legal firestorm, with the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Trump administration officials all threatening legal action.

But Joshua Aaron, the app’s creator, says he’s not backing down.

“I chose the thing that was happening in this country that really angered me the most, and I figured out a way to do something about it,” Aaron told Decrypt in an interview. “What they‘re doing to people who are our friends, our neighbors, the immigrant community that makes this country so amazing—it made me sick.”

Scrutiny of ICEBlock escalated after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized the app during an interview with Fox News.

“Our ICE agents and federal officers—especially those on joint task forces—could be put in danger,” Bondi said. “He’s signaling to criminals where our federal officers are, and he can’t do that."

“We’re looking into it, and we’re looking at him,” she added. “He better watch out, because that’s not protected speech—it’s threatening the lives of law enforcement across the country.”

The Department of Justice declined Decrypt’s request for comment.

ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons echoed the criticism, saying assaults against federal agents have increased by 500, and blaming apps like ICEBlock and the media outlets that cover them.

“CNN’s promotion of an ‘ICE spotting’ app is reckless and irresponsible,” Lyons said in a statement. “Advertising an app that basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs is sickening.”

Aaron, a software developer and the lead singer of the rock band Stealing Heather, released ICEBlock in April. The app alerts users in real time to reported ICE activity within a 5-mile radius, allowing them to avoid immigration enforcement encounters. It quickly climbed to the top of the Apple App Store’s social networking category.

Aaron told Decrypt that ICEBlock has been downloaded over 100,000 times. And while a disclaimer notes the app “may use your location even when it isn’t open,” Aaron says it is fully anonymous.

“We don’t want anything being discoverable,” he said. “And so, this is 100 anonymous and free for anybody who wants to use it.”

An Android version won’t happen, Aaron said, because Google’s platform requires storing user data—something he refuses to do: “It links you, your account, your device ID, and could be used to target you as a user,” he said. “I never want anyone put in harm’s way.”

Aaron also pushed back against allegations that the app promotes illegal behavior or endangers law enforcement.

“This app is so that if you‘re walking down the street and, four blocks ahead of you, you get a notification on your phone that ICE has been spotted—you can turn left, turn around, avoid the situation, and hopefully, protect yourself and your community,” he said.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was so upset by ICEBlock that she called for the prosecution of CNN, simply for reporting on the app.

"We‘re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that, because what they‘re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement operations," Noem told reporters during a tour of the ICE detention center in Florida, known as "Alligator Alcatraz."

In a statement shared with Decrypt, Noem said: “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.”

Despite the criticism, Aaron said he knew the risks when he decided to launch the ICEBlock app.

“You have to know going in—if you push back against a regime that clearly supports authoritarianism and thinks anything it wants to do is fine, damn the Constitution, break the law, who cares—they’re going to come after you,” he said.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

Your Email