U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracking apps are facing renewed scrutiny after federal officials said the gunman in last week’s shooting at a Dallas immigration detention facility had used one.
The apps, including the widely used ICEBlock, are designed to alert users when immigration agents may be nearby. Most rely on crowdsourced reports, similar to how apps like Waze alert users to traffic enforcement officers.
ICEBlock, developed by Austin-based tech entrepreneur Joshua Aaron, has more than a million users. Aaron said the app is intended to help people avoid confrontations with law enforcement — not interfere with operations.
“This is simply, I saw something in public and I am alerting other users that I saw something so that they can avoid that confrontation,” Aaron said.
Federal officials, however, say the apps pose a threat to law enforcement.
At a news conference last week, Marcos Charles, acting head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said, “It’s no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target. This is exactly what we saw happen in Dallas.”
Officials said the shooter had used an ICE tracking app but stopped short of saying whether it played a role in planning the attack. ICE has been warning about such apps for months, calling them dangerous.
Aaron disputes the connection, calling it politically motivated.
“If you understand how ICEBlock works, it’s ludicrous to think it had anything to do with finding the location of ICE agents. He attacked an ICE detention facility. We don’t need to know from an app that police officers are at the police department,” Aaron explained.
Aaron said he has no plans to remove the app.
“These are our immigrant friends and neighbors,” Aaron said. “I aim to keep ICEBlock up as long as it’s needed to protect these people.”
ICEBlock and similar apps remain available on the Apple App Store. ICE officials say both the creators and distributors of these apps “are well aware of the dangers.” Apple has not responded to a request for comment.
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