Trump officials want to sue the IceBlock app. The lawyer said it was unconstitutional
A general news email spokesperson using ICE mentioned a statement issued by Acting Director Todd M. Lyons on June 30, but did not provide further comments. The White House did not immediately respond to a wired request for comment.
In the statement, Lyon said CNN was “reckless and irresponsible” in its report on the application. When commenting, Emily Kuhn, senior vice president of communications at CNN, noted that the network’s statement said that reporting the existence of the application was neither illegal nor endorsed.
The Trump administration’s rebuke of the app also focused on the idea of putting the Icefield agent at risk. “Of course, it sounds like inciting further violence against our iced personnel,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to questions about the CNN report. “It sounds like inciting further violence against our iced personnel,” she continued. “The violence against ICE agents has increased by 500%, and law enforcement officers across the country are just trying to do their jobs and remove public safety threats from our communities.”
On June 20, the Department of Homeland Security issued a press release with a purported increase of 500%, but the link to the statistics directs users to an article from Breitbart that only cites DHS without providing in-depth details to support the figure.
“The Ice and the Trump administration are misunderstood, that U.S. law enforcement has the right to operate in secret,” said Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Press Freedom Foundation. Stern pointed out that ice media wore masks while operating in public, and government accusations against journalists, who reported examples of “misunderstandings” on the ice.
Aaron told Cable the app is about “informing, not getting in the way.” He described potential user interaction as someone walking around nearby and then receiving an alert on his phone that the ice has been spotted for several blocks and has a safe route home. By clicking the Add button in the IceBlock app, anyone can report new sightings.
“We are opposing authoritarianism. We are opposing fascism,” he said. “They will make hate speech at you. They will demonize everything you do. They will threaten you.”
The app is part of a larger trend in people using social media and apps to resist the Trump administration’s rampant immigration arrests. In early June, as protests began to swell in Los Angeles, multiple grassroots groups shared emergency alerts from local residents as ice attacks occurred throughout the city.
According to IceBlock’s Apple list, the app does not store any data on its users. Since it doesn’t collect user data, Aaron doesn’t know how many people have used the app in Los Angeles, or even witnesses from the past. A single user can only see what is reported within a 5-mile radius and what will happen automatically after four hours of sightings.
The app is currently only available on iPhones. Based on his past interactions with Apple during the Iceblock approval process, Aaron felt confident it would be available in the App Store. “They have reviewed it,” he said. “That’s why they approved it.” Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Aaron said IceBlock will never have ads or buttons asking for donations. For him, the simplicity of the application interface was a deliberate choice. “It’s actually an early system,” he said. “So, how much do you want to do in that early system? Apart from saying, ‘Hey, there’s something going on in a 5-mile radius. Get out of it.'”
