ICEBlock app downloads surge after backlash from Trump administration
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LOS ANGELES – ICEBlock, the iPhone app that lets users share US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sightings, got a boost in downloads, rising to the top of the Apple App Store, after the Trump administration condemned the app for putting ICE agents in danger.
The new app, which is modeled after Waze but for immigration enforcement, allows users to pinpoint ICE locations on a map, add details about what they witnessed and send push alerts to others within a five-mile radius. Its slogan reads, “See something, tap something.”
ICEBlock gained popularity after a CNN article about it was criticized by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons earlier this week, citing concerns over the safety of ICE agents.
In an interview with NBC News, app developer Joshua Aaron called the criticism “another right-wing fearmongering scare tactic,” saying the app was meant to be a resource for immigrants, and compared Trump’s mass deportations with what happened in Nazi Germany under Hitler.
“When I saw what was happening in this country, I really just wanted to do something to help fight back,” Aaron, a former musician, told NBC News. “I grew up in a Jewish household, and being part of the Jewish community, I had the chance to meet Holocaust survivors and learn the history of what happened in Nazi Germany, and the parallels that we can draw between what’s happening right now in our country and Hitler’s rise to power are undeniable.”
ICEblock, which allows users to alert others to the geographical location of ICE officers, is the top social networking app in the App Store right now after Karoline Leavitt condemned it from the podium yesterday. pic.twitter.com/NaUm81JCCq
— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) July 1, 2025
Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed the criticism and warned Aaron to “better watch out.”
“Our ICE agents, all of our federal agents who are working hand in hand on these task force[s] — our federal agents from the Justice Department could be injured,” Bondi said Monday on “Hannity.”
“He’s giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are. And he cannot do that. And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that’s not a protected speech. That is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country.”
ICEBlock, which became available to iPhone users in April, is currently available only on iOS devices and, according to its website, stores no personal data, making it impossible to trace reports back to individual users.
