Facebook removed an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement group with more than 84,000 members after conservative personality Laura Loomer reported it to the Department of Justice.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the DOJ contacted Facebook and asked it to remove the page.
The page, named “ICE Sighting- Chicagoland,” reported the whereabouts of ICE operations. It’s the second removal of an ICE reporting apparatus in recent weeks after Apple took down the ICE Block app.
“Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago,” Bondi wrote on X.
“The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement,” she added.
The page is still visible on Google, but when visited, a message says, “This content isn’t available right now.”
A Meta spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that the group was removed “for violating our policies against coordinated harm.”
Meta’s policy page on coordinated harm prohibits users from “outing the undercover status of law enforcement, military, or security personnel if the content contains the agent’s name, their face or badge,” as well as their law enforcement organization or operation.
Loomer said on Monday that her DOJ source saw her report and contacted Facebook “to remove these ICE tracking pages from the platform.”
The DOJ believes such pages endanger officer safety and lead to the doxxing of ICE personnel. People could use the reports to avoid the area or show up to record the officers’ activities.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said last month that “videotaping ICE law enforcement and posting photos and videos of them online is doxxing our agents.”
“We will prosecute those who illegally harass ICE agents to the fullest extent of the law,” she added.
The page’s removal comes as the Trump administration’s immigration operations descend into the Chicago area for operation “Midway Blitz.” Around 200 ICE officers are in the area, along with National Guard personnel.
JOHNSON WATCHING ‘CLOSELY’ ON WHETHER CONGRESSIONAL INTERVENTION NEEDED FOR ANTI-ICE PROTESTS
Chicago officials have resisted the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement attempts. Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) said last Sunday that he believes ICE agents are acting illegally.
“The tables will turn one day,” Prtizker said. “These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration because the statute of limitations would not have run out.”
