ICEBlock App Designer Compares Agency to Hitler: 'Something Had to Be Done'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The designer of an app that allows users to track the location of immigration officers compared the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement with "Hitler's rise to power" in Nazi Germany.
Joshua Aaron, the creator of ICEBlock, told Newsweek that he "knew something had to be done to help the people" after researching Project 2025 and seeing images of ICE agents detaining people.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The ICEBlock app, which allows users to access and update a real-time map of ICE activity across the U.S., became the top download on the App Store in the social networking category this week.
Aaron created it with the goal of helping people avoid encounters with ICE, and he has said repeatedly that it is not designed to interfere with law enforcement. However, the Department of Homeland Security has said the app "paints a target on federal law enforcement officers' backs."
Police arresting a man during the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement "No Kings" protest in Los Angeles on June 14.
Police arresting a man during the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement "No Kings" protest in Los Angeles on June 14.
Getty Images
What To Know
While Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has called ICEBlock an "obstruction of justice," Aaron maintains that the app is solely for information.
"I have continually made it clear, both via wording in the app and through media, that this is an early warning system. In no way are we encouraging ICEBlock users to interfere with law enforcement," he told Newsweek.
Aaron continued: "When I read Project 2025, listened to Trump on the campaign trail and then saw his administration putting policies into place to achieve those goals, I knew something had to be done to help the people.
"When we see ICE agents outside of elementary schools, disappearing college students for their political beliefs or ripping babies from their mother's arms as they scream for their children, we all know their rhetoric of 'getting rid of the worst of the worst' is a lie.
"As I often say, if you ever wondered what you would've done if you lived in Germany during Hitler's rise to power, wonder no more because you're doing it right now. Developing ICEBlock was my way of joining the fight and giving people a chance to help protect themselves and their communities."
Anonymity is key to the app's success. ICEBlock does not log any user information or location data. This means that estimates for the app's usage, which already put it as one of the most popular services this week, are likely even higher.
"As of June 29, we had 31.3k users," Aaron said. "Now that ICEBlock is the No. 1 app in social networking—and with all the media attention, I have a feeling that number will be significantly larger."
"As far as the areas in which the user base in the largest, I would have no idea," he added. "We do not track our users at any time, and that includes analytics. There is literally no data about any user captured or stored, ever."
What People Are Saying
Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement given to Newsweek following a CNN segment about ICEBlock on Tuesday: "Advertising an app that basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers' backs is sickening.
"My officers and agents are already facing a 500 percent increase in assaults, and going on live television to announce an app that lets anyone zero in on their locations is like inviting violence against them with a national megaphone.
"CNN is willfully endangering the lives of officers who put their lives on the line every day and enabling dangerous criminal aliens to evade U.S. law. Is this simply reckless 'journalism' or overt activism?"
A statement on the ICEBlock app tells users: "Please note that the use of this app is for information and notification purposes only. It is not to be used for the purposes of inciting violence or interfering with law enforcement."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on X, formerly Twitter: "This sure looks like obstruction of justice. Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500 percent increase in assaults against them. If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
What Happens Next
ICE continues to carry out the Trump administration's immigration orders across the U.S.
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