ICEBlock, which allowed users to report the locations of immigration agents, has been removed from the Apple App Store after the Department of Justice raised concerns about officer safety.
A Washington Examiner review showed it could not be found on the app store or downloaded on the web.
DOJ officials had asked Apple to take down the app.
“We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Washington Examiner.
“ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed,” she added. “This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe.”
Apple said that it removed ICEBlock and similar apps from the App Store due to “information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated” with the app.
The app’s developer, Joshua Aaron, said he felt “incredibly disappointed by Apple’s actions today.”
“Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move,” Aaron said. “Apple has claimed they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock served to harm law enforcement officers. This is patently false.”
He said the app acts like other apps in Apple’s store, and he’s determined to fight the decision.
“We are determined to fight this with everything we have,” Aaron said. “Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to reign down on the people of this nation.”
The DOJ’s concerns about the app come after attacks on immigration officers across the country. Last month, a shooter in Dallas opened fire on immigration officers and detainees before killing himself. The alleged perpetrator, Joshua Jahn, used similar apps to find the officers and the detainees, the FBI said.
Two detainees were seriously injured in the shooting, and two died. Jahn allegedly wrote “anti-ICE” messages on shell casings.
ICEBlock developer Aaron told the BBC earlier this week that he wanted the app around as long as “necessary.”
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ICE TRACKING APP
“Anything that challenges what they’re doing in this country and to this country, they’re going to push back on … but they’re not going to intimidate me. ICEBlock will be here for as long as it’s necessary,” he said.
He also believes that criticism aimed at him is unfounded. “You don’t need to use an app to tell you where an ICE agent is when you’re aiming at an ICE detention facility. Everybody knows that’s where ICE agents are,” he added.
