DOJ goes after US citizen for developing anti-ICE app

AppleInsider

The developer of an iPhone app for sharing sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers has been publicly threatened by the US Attorney General.

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ICEBlock is a free iPhone app

Trump's deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers into Los Angeles -- conducting raids the LA Mayor says are entirely unnecessary -- has already sparked riots in the city. A free iOS app called ICEBlock has been letting users report sightings of these officers, and thereby warning other locals to avoid certain areas.

Now as first spotted by Wired, the app's developer has been publicly threatened by United States Attorney General Pam Bondi. "We are looking at him," she said on Fox News, "and he better watch out."

There is no apparent legal basis for such a threat, and it appears to be an entirely unconstitutional attack against free speech. Developer Joshua Aaron says his app is about "informing, not obstructing."

"We're pushing back against authoritarianism. We're pushing back against fascism," Aaron said. "They're gonna fire off hate rhetoric at you. They're gonna demonize everything you're doing. They're gonna threaten you."

White House takes on CNN

At the same time, Trump's administration is following its usual playbook of threatening to sue. This time, its threat is against CNN just for covering the existence of 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 activities and operations," Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said to press, "and we're going to actually go after them and prosecute them... because what they're doing, we believe, is illegal."

Noem can believe what she likes, but the reporting isn't illegal and freedom of the press is expressly protected by the Constitution. CNN has so far responded solely with a tweet announcing that reporting on the existence of an app is neither illegal, nor indicative of any endorsement by the news organization.

https://t.co/aoqLrHthoK pic.twitter.com/FHFYsXK1W0

-- CNN Communications (@CNNPR)

July 1, 2025

Trump's administration has taken the stance that the app is endangering ICE officers.

"Surely, it sounds like this would be an incitement of further violence against our ICE officers," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

"[There has] been a 500 percent increase in violence against ICE agents," Leavitt continued, without presenting any evidence and her failing to present the context that visible ICE agent actions have increased by well more than 500%.

The implication is that the app and any other resistance to the ICE raids in Los Angeles is responsible for this unsubstantiated increase in violence. Trump's administration does not acknowledge that the actions of the ICE officers could have any part in prompting public reaction.

"If you remember, at the beginning of this administration, we were told that raids would be to look for violent criminals, people who had warrants," Mayor Karen Bass said in June 2025. "But I don't know how you go from a drug dealer to a Home Depot, to people's workplaces, where they're just trying to make a living."



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anthogag

Sure, fully armed ICE agents backed by the army should be scared as they attempt to apprehend people at work. How many ICE agents are members of the far right? They seem to be attacking people at work with over-the-top violence. 

edited July 7

dogolaca

Again, I must point out there have been no riots in Los Angeles. Unless you count no-badge no-uniform secret police marauding and kidnapping, or LAPD violent overreaction to protests.

I live across the street from the Tower Theatre Apple Store, which is more than a mile away from the protests at the federal building. The store was hit late on Sunday night by an organized group in a rental truck. Just local criminals taking advantage of a situation created by big-time criminals in the White House.

cincytee

anthogag said:

Sure, fully armed ICE agents backed by the army should be scared as they attempt to apprehend people at work. How many ICE agents are members of the far right? They seem to be attacking people at work with over-the-top violence. 

Well, when cruelty is one of the key components of the policy, what should one expect?

This app isn't any more illegal than one that warns about speed traps.

rob53

What gives our governments the right to install cameras all over the place to spy on every single person in the USA (plus other countries)? If they can do it why can't we? Gone are the days of any kind of privacy, especially right now. 

rjharlan

Don’t you find it interesting that the Trump administration is going after this developer for creating what equates to a speed trap alert for ICE Barbie’s gestapo but they’re choosing to ignore the law entirely when it comes to Tik Tok? All because the man in charge found out that his supporters actually use the app. I say, move your reports to Tik Tok and see their heads spin! They won’t know what to do!!

snookie

Petty thugs and mini tyrants catering to a criminal and traitorous president.  They pick on little people because like all bullies they are also cowards.  Let’s see them go up against Apples legal machine for hosting the app.  I spent 12 years in the Marines and did the for real stuff.  Seeing these clowns going after dishwashers in full gear that they obviously don’t know how to wear or use is disgusting.  Plus now with their new huge budget the intent is clearly to be a secret police army for trump.  But trump Isn’t going to be president forever and there may be legal repercussions for his minions down the road.  One can hope at least.

strangedays

the Trump administration hates the 1A and are actual fascists. It's no longer hyperbole 

ranson

At the same time, Trump's administration is following its usual playbook of threatening to sue. This time, its threat is against CNN just for covering the existence of the app.

To be clear, they are not threatening to sue. They are threatening to prosecute. There is a difference. You file suit to reach a civil outcome (liability) - an injunction to stop the practice and possibly receive a monetary award for damages - where the defendant can't receive a jail sentence. You prosecute to reach a criminal outcome (conviction) - where the prosecution wants the defendant to be punished with probation, jail time (misdemeanor) or prison time (felony).

So when they say they want to prosecute CNN or eventually Mr. Aaron, it means they want to lock people up.

edited July 7

pixeltini

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. Now go ahead and hurl the Leftist phrases you learned from CNN.

wesley_hilliard

pixeltini said:

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. Now go ahead and hurl the Leftist phrases you learned from CNN.

65% of people kidnapped by ICE have zero convictions. 93% have zero violent convictions. The app works like a crowdsourced app similar to Waze. Users can report sightings the same way they can report a pothole in Waze. It is against the first amendment for the government to restrict speech of any kind.

They built a concentration camp on asphalt in the middle of a swamp surrounded by alligators they hope will eat them. These are facts.

Careful with the CNN leftie stuff. We're not going to tolerate ad hominem attacks, insults, or any kind of propaganda.

edited July 7

danox

pixeltini said:

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. Now go ahead and hurl the Leftist phrases you learned from CNN.

Jan 6….

stabitha_christie

pixeltini said:

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. Now go ahead and hurl the Leftist phrases you learned from CNN.

This is really easy and you have actually made the point on your own. ICEBlock is in fact like drivers warning each other of speed traps, it is simply sharing information. This has been litigated and courts have consistently upheld that drivers warning each other of speed traps is projected speech. Protected speech means that it is projected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. So, per your analogy, ICEBlock is perfectly lawful. 

Pardon me of using logic and pointing out rights granted to us by the U.S. Constitution. Now, go ahead and hurl your phrased you learned from the cult.

restrained_nicholas

dogolaca said:

Again, I must point out there have been no riots in Los Angeles. Unless you count no-badge no-uniform secret police marauding and kidnapping, or LAPD violent overreaction to protests.

I live across the street from the Tower Theatre Apple Store, which is more than a mile away from the protests at the federal building. The store was hit late on Sunday night by an organized group in a rental truck. Just local criminals taking advantage of a situation created by big-time criminals in the White House.

I'm trying to Like this post but there's a glitch in the forum software preventing me from doing so.

This is exactly right, and it's why I clicked to post here. No riots, only propaganda.

And I'm going to try and download the app in protest of this tragedy.

anonymouse

Wesley_Hilliard said:

They built a concentration camp on asphalt in the middle of a swamp surrounded by alligators they hope will eat them.

Yes, this is worth repeating, the so-called Alligator Alcatraz is a concentration camp.

edited July 7

mike wuerthele

pixeltini said:

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. Now go ahead and hurl the Leftist phrases you learned from CNN.

It is exactly what I have bolded. Courts for decades have upheld the right of people to do exactly that. Apple Maps now will warn you of a speed trap, and the administration doesn't seem to care about that.

Why? Because it's legal. Because ruling after ruling, it's been ruled as protected by the first amendment. 

So has freedom of the press, which is what the administration is apparently more pissed about.

edited July 7

hexclock

None of this would be happening if the last admin hadn’t let 10-15 million people over the border. Simple as that. Of course, for 3 1/2 years the left said it wasn’t happening until the election was approaching. They called it a manufactured crisis. It was, in a way, manufactured. They were intentionally let in, mostly to establish a new permanent underclass to change the apportionment of swing states in order to usher in a perpetual democrat rule. And of course to have a ready supply of low skilled workers that they could exploit. 

They did it to themselves. 

mike wuerthele

hexclock said:

None of this would be happening if the last admin hadn’t let 10-15 million people over the border. Simple as that. Of course, for 3 1/2 years the left said it wasn’t happening until the election was approaching. They called it a manufactured crisis. It was, in a way, manufactured. They were intentionally let in, mostly to establish a new permanent underclass to change the apportionment of swing states in order to usher in a perpetual democrat rule. And of course to have a ready supply of low skilled workers that they could exploit. 

They did it to themselves. 

Sure, assuming you are good with the premise that Bush II and Trump was in on it too. The number of illegal immigrants in the US has been steady since the early 00s. https://www.statista.com/statistics/646261/unauthorized-immigrant-population-in-the-us/

In short, the total illegal immigrant population has been around 10.7 million in total, for the last 15 years or so. 10-15 million over the last four years doesn't hold up to basic scrutiny, and is refuted by the US government.

edited July 7

mplsp

pixeltini said:

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. Now go ahead and hurl the Leftist phrases you learned from CNN.

The app is not directly interfering and it’s actions are in effect no different than Wayze or Apple Maps giving the location of a speed trap. If you’re ok with this then you need to explain why you are opposed to the BlockICE app.

Pardon me for using logic and pointing out the obvious. No go ahead and stereotype people as ‘leftists’ because you happen to disagree with them.

Honestly, that’s the problem in this country right now - nobody is taking the time to think. 

gregw

pixeltini said:

And let's call out the specious idea that Ice Block is no different than a radar detector or warning drivers of a speed trap. A speed zone warning is an alert to POTENTIAL law breakers. Ice Block interferes with police efforts to apprehend individuals who have ALREADY BROKEN AT LEAST ONE LAW. Do you see the difference? Well do you?

What law do you allege has been broken by all potential users of this app? That’s a serious question. I genuinely want you to answer.

dogolaca

pixeltini said:

Hmm, who could have guessed interfering with law enforcement efforts would be illegal? It's no different than attempting to block a police vehicle doing its duty to protect Americans against those who would do us harm. You know… gang members, drug dealers, convicted felons, cartel thugs, human traffickers, and so on.

You forgot to include car washers, tacqueros, seamstress, day laborers and people waiting for the bus in your list of the dangerous people that the racist TrumpMiller goons are kidnapping.