Apple announced on Thursday evening that it would be removing ICEBlock along with other applications from its App Store that facilitate anonymous reporting of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
This decision was taken following pressure from Attorney General Pam Bondi, amidst a backdrop of controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s stringent enforcement of immigration laws led by ICE agents and other officials.
The FBI reported last week that a shooter who carried out an attack on a Dallas ICE center resulting in the deaths of two undocumented immigrants and injuring a third had recently utilized apps for tracking ICE agents.
Skylar Jahn, identified as the shooter, had the intention to kill ICE agents during the assault, which concluded with his own suicide, according to authorities.
“We established the App Store as a secure and reliable platform for discovering apps,” Apple stated in a message to NBC News on Thursday.
“In light of the information provided by law enforcement regarding the safety hazards associated with ICEBlock, we have taken it down along with similar applications from the App Store,” the company affirmed.
Fox Business was the first to report on Apple’s removal of ICEBlock and akin apps.
ICEBlock amassed over 1 million downloads since its launch this year, according to data provided by the app analytics company Appfigures to NBC News. The app experienced a peak of nearly 114,000 downloads in just one day on July 1, the day after a CNN report on it drew criticism from the Trump administration.
In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, Bondi indicated, “We contacted Apple today insisting they eliminate the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and they complied.”
“ICEBlock aims to jeopardize the safety of ICE agents merely for performing their duties, and violence against law enforcement is an unacceptable boundary that must not be crossed,” Bondi expressed in her statement.
“This Justice Department will persist in its efforts to safeguard our courageous federal law enforcement officers, who face threats daily to ensure the safety of Americans,” she added.
Tom Homan, border enforcement czar during the Trump administration, mentioned in an interview Thursday night with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, “They are going to look into the individuals responsible for these apps — as it poses significant risks to law enforcement.”
CNBC has sought comments from Joshua Aaron, the creator of ICEBlock.
ICEBlock, launched in April on the App Store, is available for free.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X last week, highlighted that the gunman who attacked the ICE location in Dallas on September 24 “was utilizing one of these applications” to monitor ICE agents.
ICEBlock quickly became the leading social networking app in the App Store shortly after Leavitt denounced it during a press conference at the White House on June 30.
CNN reported on that day, illustrating that Aaron indicated he developed ICEBlock in response to the escalating deportation actions of the Trump administration.
“Upon witnessing what was unfolding in this country, I felt compelled to act,” Aaron remarked at that moment, implying that the immigration enforcement measures resembled those of Nazi Germany.
“We are witnessing history repeat itself.”
Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, stated on June 30, “Promoting an application that essentially targets federal law enforcement officers is appalling.”
“My agents and officers are facing an alarming 500% increase in assaults, and going on national television to promote an app that allows anyone to pinpoint their locations is equivalent to inviting violence against them,” Lyons expressed.
However, Aaron, in an NBC interview shortly thereafter, dismissed the Trump administration’s criticisms of ICEBlock as “a further instance of right-wing fearmongering.”
He mentioned that he created the app to provide assistance to immigrants fearful of deportation.
“Having been raised in a Jewish household and as part of the Jewish community, I had the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivors and understand the historical events of Nazi Germany, and the parallels between current occurrences in our nation and Hitler’s rise to power are unmistakable,” Aaron remarked.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this narrative.
