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This story<\/a> was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Oct. 8, 2025.<\/p>\n People Over Papers, an interactive mapping tool that tracks crowdsourced ICE sightings<\/a>, has been taken down by the digital platform Padlet.<\/p>\n One of the project\u2019s creators, Celeste, who requested her last name remain private for security reasons, said she received no advance notice before Padlet removed the tool Sunday morning. \u201cI reached out to them pretty immediately. At first, I thought I had done something wrong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n About two hours later, she said, a Padlet customer representative notified her that People Over Papers was \u201ctrashed due to violations\u201d of its content policy and that it couldn\u2019t be restored \u201cat this time.\u201d<\/p>\n Celeste shared the message from Padlet with Boyle Heights Beat, which reached out to Padlet for comment, but had not received a response as of publication. A notice<\/a> on the project\u2019s former web address alerts users that the People Over Papers padlet \u201cis in the garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur robots detected that this padlet was being used for things we don\u2019t approve of. So we have deleted it,\u201d according to the notice.<\/p>\n Part of a larger crackdown on ICE tracking tools<\/p>\n The removal comes just days after Apple took down<\/a> ICEBlock and other similar apps that allow users to report and view the locations of federal immigration agents. According to the Associated Press<\/a>, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded Apple \u201cremove ICEBlock\u201d and claimed it is \u201cdesigned to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, Laura Loomer, a political advisor to President Donald Trump, called<\/a> on the CEO of Padlet to take down the mapping tool and referred to People over Papers users as \u201cradical left wing domestic terrorists\u201d who \u201charass ICE agents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDespite tech companies bending a knee to the requests or wants of people in higher authority, we know that this is protected free speech, and we are going to continue to exercise that for as long as we can,\u201d Celeste told The Beat.<\/p>\n New website launches<\/p>\n Celeste said the People over Papers team, which is made up of about 50 volunteers, foresaw this happening and began working on a new website months ago. Though they planned for a later launch, Padlet\u2019s removal sped up the release.<\/p>\n The new website, iceout.org, launched on Sunday.<\/a><\/p>\n People Over Papers kept the same domain that was hosted on Padlet and rerouted it to the new site. Celeste said their servers crashed on Monday due to a high level of traffic. People Over Papers announced<\/a> its new website across social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThat seemed to get people aware of it. \u2026 We just got a bunch of people submitting, wanting to access it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Having control of their website will allow People over Papers to roll out new features, such as sending push notifications alerting users of immigration enforcement activity once they set a radius.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat people can expect is probably better communication between us and the user,\u201d Celeste said.<\/p>\n The tool has become particularly valuable in Los Angeles, where users travel across multiple counties for work. \u201cThis allows them to just see the activity all in one place, regardless of county, city or state lines,\u201d Celeste said.<\/p>\n From TikTok to national platform<\/p>\n People over Papers began tracking crowd-sourced ICE sightings in January in several states like Alabama, Texas and California. Celeste, a user on TikTok, says the mapping project emerged after she and other TikTok creators began collecting ICE activity on a Google spreadsheet. The tool became a lifeline for users seeking help and sharing updates once the immigration raids started in June.<\/p>\n Since its creation, People over Papers has received more than 19 million unique visitors and has been averaging between 200,000 and 300,000 users per day, according to MIT Technology Review<\/a>.<\/p>\n The project began without any restrictions, allowing anybody to submit and automatically publish a sighting, but moderators soon began reviewing submissions before publishing.<\/p>\n Volunteers verify submissions of suspected ICE activity through a process that includes reviewing images, conducting reverse Google Image searches, cross-referencing with other sources and confirming details through news reports or rapid response networks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat distinguishes us from other applications is our moderation process,\u201d Celeste said, adding that they\u2019ll soon start recruiting for more moderators.<\/p>\n The work is personal for Celeste, who comes from an immigrant household. She has described these efforts as a \u201clabor of love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that keeps me going is [that] people are interested in this. \u2026 People want this, and I just keep reminding myself that this is temporary,\u201d Celeste said.<\/p>\n Kristen Muller contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n