Apple removed the program after the Justice Department requested the company to do so, according to a statement from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
President Trump argues that CNN could be charged with reporting on ice blocks
President Donald Trump argued that CNN could be charged with reporting users on an app that alerts nearby ICE agents.
WASHINGTON – Apple users are no longer able to download apps warning of sightings from immigration agents after they have been pressured by the Trump administration and removed several programs from the App Store.
Ice Block, the most popular ice tracking app, and other services that flagged the presence of US immigration and customs enforcement agents, were removed this week at the request of the Department of Justice.
“We reached out to Apple today by requesting Apple to remove the Iceblock app from the App Store. Apple did,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement to USA Today. “Ice blocks are designed to put ice agents at risk just for their work, and violence against law enforcement is an insurable red line that cannot be crossed.”
In a statement to multiple media outlets, Apple said it had removed “Iceblock and other programs” “about safety risks related to the service based on information received from law enforcement.”
For months, the Trump administration denounced the ice tracking app, saying it could lead to an increase in assault on immigrant agents running a federal deportation campaign.
In July, President Donald Trump said he was indicting CNN after a media outlet reported on Iceblock, a free app with hundreds of thousands of anonymous users.
Authorities recently linked the app to a deadly shooting at an immigration facility in Dallas, Texas, killing and wounding two detainees last month. FBI director Kash Patel said investigators have recovered evidence that gunmen used the ICE tracking app but did not identify any particular programs.
Bondi previously had investigated Ice Block developer Joshua Aaron, and told him to “take care” and he said he was “unprotected” under the Constitution.
Aaron did not immediately respond to requests for comments regarding the removal of the app. In an interview with USA Today last week, he defended the application and said he had not been contacted by federal authorities.
Contribution: Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today; Reuters
