'I wanted to do something to fight back': This iPhone app alerts users to nearby ICE sightings

[usonian]

Last edited Wed Jul 2, 2025, 12:12 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/30/tech/iceblock-app-trump-immigration-crackdown

Aaron said he hopes those notifications will help people avoid interactions with ICE, noting that he does not want users to interfere with the agency’s operations.

Note:
ICEBlock doesn’t collect personal data, and users are completely anonymous, according to Aaron. It’s only available on iOS because Aaron says the app would have to collect information that could ultimately put users at risk to provide the same experience on Android. .


This was just added to the ICEBlock site.
https://www.iceblock.app/android
ICEBlock - ANDROID PLATFORM STATEMENT
Short:

At ICEBlock, user privacy and security are paramount. Our application is designed to provide as much anonymity as possible without storing any user data or creating accounts. While we understand the desire for an Android version of ICEBlock, achieving this level of anonymity on Android is not feasible due to the inherent requirements of push notification services.

Please read.

Aaron launched the platform, called ICEBlock, in early April after watching President Donald Trump’s administration begin its immigration crackdown. The White House’s immigration policies have sparked mass protests across the United States; a CNN poll in April showed 52% of Americans polled said Trump has gone too far in deporting undocumented immigrants.

ICEBlock currently has more than 20,000 users, many of whom are in Los Angeles, where controversial, large-scale deportation efforts have taken place.

“When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back,” Aaron told CNN, adding that the deportation efforts feel, to him, reminiscent of Nazi Germany. “We’re literally watching history repeat itself.”

ICEBlock is designed to be an “early warning system” for users when ICE is operating nearby, Aaron said. Users can add a pin on a map showing where they spotted agents — along with optional notes, like what officers were wearing or what kind of car they were driving. Other users within a five-mile radius will then receive a push alert notifying them of the sighting.

https://www.iceblock.app/

ICEBlock


See something, tap something

Download from the App Store


ICEBlock is an innovative, completely anonymous crowdsourced platform that allows users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity with just two taps on their phone. In recent years, ICE has faced criticism for alleged civil rights abuses and failures to adhere to constitutional principles and due process, making it crucial for communities to stay informed about its operations.

Modeled after Waze but for ICE sightings, the app ensures user privacy by storing no personal data, making it impossible to trace reports back to individual users. Available exclusively for iOS devices, ICEBlock empowers communities to stay informed about ICE presence within a 5-mile radius while maintaining their anonymity through real-time updates and automatic deletion of sightings after four hours.


Press & Media

June 30th, 2025 - MAGA Meltdown - TheDailyBeast.com (pdf)
June 30th, 2025 - ICEBlock Backlash - Time.com (pdf)
May 16th, 2025 - Digital Resistance - Slate.com (pdf)

Note: I have downloaded the app, but have not tested it in action (thank goodness). Passing this along in the hopes that it helps.

[walkingman]

1. Great idea - reminds me of when cops tried to outlaw radar detectors.

We become more of a police state every day.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Maddow Blog--The bizarre reason Trump and his team say they may try to 'prosecute' CNN

When an administration starts talking about prosecuting journalists for running segments the White House doesn't like, pay attention.

“Maddow Blog | The bizarre reason Trump and his team say they may try to ‘prosecute’ CNN”

— (@serena-spencer-esq.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T15:44:29.466Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/bizarre-reason-trump-team-say-may-try-prosecute-cnn-rcna216447

Tom Homan, the White House “border czar,” for example, said this week that he believes the Justice Department “needs to look at” CNN because of its report. As The New York Times reported, he wasn’t alone.

Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said on Tuesday that she was ‘working with the Department of Justice’ to see if the Trump administration could prosecute CNN for publishing an article about an app that allows users to send alerts about the presence of nearby immigration agents. ‘We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them,’ Ms. Noem told reporters at an appearance with President Trump in Florida.

The DHS secretary went on to describe the reporting that the administration didn’t like as “illegal.”

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:aunpu65mdrhwfie7ynymlzeh/post/3lsvzae2w5c2i

Link to tweet

......In case this isn’t obvious, let’s pause to take note of a few things. First, CNN reporting on a popular and publicly available app is perfectly legal under the First Amendment. Second, “working with” federal prosecutors to target a news organization for running a perfectly legal report is unambiguous authoritarianism.

Third, CNN’s reporting on Trump’s pre-emptive military strikes in Iran wasn’t “false” — and even if it were, it wouldn’t have been illegal. (If the White House has evidence of a media outlet getting a story wrong, it can ask for a correction. It cannot sic federal law enforcement on journalists.)

But it's also worth appreciating the larger context.

In the run-up to Election Day 2024, Trump was nearly as eager to attack the free press as he was to attack Kamala Harris. The Republican, for example, referred to journalists as “the enemy of the people,” media outlets as “evil,” and news professionals as “scum.”

But the offensive wasn’t just rhetorical. As regular readers might recall, Trump also made clear that he hoped to use governmental power to crack down on journalism he dislikes. It’s why he invested so much time and energy talking about the FCC stripping TV networks of their broadcast licenses for airing coverage he disapproves of......

And then the tactics did, in fact, get worse. The president demanded that CBS face “fines and punishment” for airing a “60 Minutes” episode he didn’t like; he tried to penalize The Associated Press over its decision to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico; and the White House has also taken steps to control press pools, in part to ensure sycophantic questions.

Those who take the First Amendment’s press freedoms for granted need to recognize the fact that Trump is eyeing the kind of crackdown on journalism that’s unheard of in any modern democracy.

[usonian]

3. Newman, updated

[ShazzieB]

4. He never sounds more like a tantrumming toddler than when he's railing about the media...

He never sounds more like a tantrumming toddler than when he's railing about the media telling truths that are unfavorable to him.

Unfortunately, this tantrumming toddler has real power and can't be put in ti e out until he calms down. He has power, and he has people who are more than willing to assist him in doing immoral, unethical, and unconstitutional things.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.