The Trump administration has accused ICEBlock of making it easier to attack federal employees and called for its removal.
Published December 9, 2025
The developer of a popular app used to monitor and share alerts about immigration enforcement activities has sued President Donald Trump’s administration, accusing Apple of pressuring the company to remove the app.
ICEBlock, whose name comes from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had 1 million users before it was removed from Apple’s app store, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
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In his lawsuit, developer Joshua Aaron argued that the Trump administration’s campaign against tracking apps violates free speech rights.
“When we see our government doing something wrong, it is our duty as citizens to hold our government accountable, and that is exactly what we are doing in this lawsuit,” Aaron said in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks the district court system to protect the Texas-based software company from “unlawful threats” under the Trump administration.
Also named as defendants are top Trump officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
First released in April, ICEBlock quickly became a widely used tool across the country as communities looked for ways to share information about immigration raids.
Since returning to office for a second term, President Trump has pursued a mass deportation campaign targeting a wide range of immigrants who are in the country legally.
Many of these raids are carried out by heavily armed immigration officers in military uniform, who also face repeated accusations of human rights abuses.
Critics have questioned the force used in some arrests and the use of masks and plain clothes by ICE officers to conceal their identities.
There are also reports of inhumane conditions after migrants are detained, including overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and walls stained with feces.
Human rights activists have also questioned the speed of deportations, arguing that migrants who are arrested lack the opportunity to exercise their due process rights and are often prevented from accessing lawyers.
Even U.S. citizens have been mistakenly detained at immigration. Some immigrants were deported despite court orders ordering them to remain in the United States.
The Trump administration has faced intense criticism and judicial rebuke for its tactics.
But they argue that software like ICEBlock puts federal immigration authorities at risk of retaliation.
“ICEBlock is designed to put ICE officers at risk just by doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is a red line that will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Bondi.
In October, ICEBlock was removed from Apple’s App Store, a popular platform for downloading mobile software. The Justice Department confirmed it contacted Apple to urge the removal.
The tech company told Aaron the app was removed following “information provided to Apple by law enforcement,” according to the complaint.
Aaron countered that the app is an exercise of essential free speech rights and is intended to protect people from overbearing government action.
“We’re basically asking the court to set a precedent and say that ICEBlock is effectively First Amendment protected speech and that I did nothing wrong by creating it,” Aaron said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“So people wearing masks are the antithesis of everything in this country, not identifying themselves, zip-tying children and throwing women into vans.”
