Apple, Google Take Down Apps Used to Report Sightings of ICE Agents

Trump administration officials have said that such apps could increase the risk of assaults on U.S. agents.

View of an Apple logo at an Apple store in Paris, France, on April 23, 2025. Abdul Saboor/Reuters

Apple on Oct. 2 said it removed from its store apps that can be used to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Google followed suit, telling 404 Media on Oct. 3 that it did so because the apps shared the locations of members of “a vulnerable group” that recently faced a violent act in connection to the apps. The company said this violated its policies for Android platforms.

The apps, such as ICEBlock and Red Dot, work by alerting users when ICE agents are in the area. Trump administration officials have said that such apps could increase the risk of attacks on U.S. agents.

“Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store,” Apple said in a statement.

“We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store—and Apple did so,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“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. 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.”

The Epoch Times contacted ICEBlock for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

ICE Facility Shooting

The controversy over ICE agent tracking apps intensified after a fatal shooting on Sept. 24 at an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas.

An ICE office and transport vehicle were shot at by alleged shooter Joshua Jahn, killing one detainee and critically injuring two others, one of whom later died. No ICE agents were injured. Jahn later died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the attack.

Jahn “used the ICE tracking apps,” according to Marcos Charles, acting executive associate director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Charles said those developing such apps ought to understand the potential threats they pose to officers.

“It’s no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target, and this is exactly what we saw happen in Dallas yesterday,” he said.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

ICEBlock

CNN reported on the ICEBlock app on June 30. During an appearance on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s show, border czar Tom Homan criticized CNN for covering the app, calling it “disgusting.”

“I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys,” he said. “It’s already a dangerous job.”

Homan suggested that CNN was complicit in putting federal law enforcement officers at risk.

“This is horrendous that a national media outlet would be out there trying to forecast law enforcement operations,” he said. “I think DOJ needs to look at this. They’re crossing that line. We need to send a strong message that we need to protect the law enforcement officers.”

On July 1, during a visit to a detention center for illegal immigrants in Ochopee, Florida, reporters asked President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about Homan’s remarks that CNN should potentially face prosecution for covering 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, operations, and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them,” Noem said. “What they’re doing, we believe, is illegal.”

When asked about Homan’s call for prosecuting CNN, Trump responded, “OK with me.”

Later that day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused the network of “contributing to our brave ICE officers now facing a 500 [percent] increase in assaults,” in a statement on X.

“@Sec_Noem has been clear: 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,” the DHS added.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents make an arrest during an early morning operation in Park Ridge, Ill., on Sept. 19, 2025. Erin Hooley/AP Photo

In response, CNN’s communication team defended its reporting on the ICEBlock app.

“This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it,” CNN’s communications team said in a July 1 statement on X. “There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN.”

Reuters, Savannah Hulsey Pointer, Tom Ozimek, and Nathan Worchester contributed to this report.