ICE agent tracker apps face fresh scrutiny from lawmakers

House Republicans are ramping up pressure on tech giants Apple and Google over mobile apps that allow users to track the locations of immigration agents, warning that such tools could threaten officer safety and disrupt federal enforcement efforts.

On Thursday, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Subcommittee Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) sent letters obtained exclusively by Newsweek to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The lawmakers said their committees were investigating apps that allow users to anonymously report and share real-time information about Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities.

“The Committee is concerned that these apps not only jeopardize the safety of DHS personnel but also enable malicious actors to incite violence and obstruct lawful government operations,” the lawmakers wrote in letters to Cook and Pichai.

The letters specifically cite the app ICEBlock, which lawmakers allege was used by a gunman to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents before a deadly shooting at a federal facility in Dallas in September.

“To be clear, the Committee is a strong supporter of all Americans’ right to free speech. However, that right is not absolute,” the Republican lawmakers wrote. “The Committee seeks to better understand what measures [Google and Apple] is taking to remove these types of apps from the [app] Store and to ensure that they are not used to endanger the safety of federal law enforcement officers or interfere with the legal execution of federal immigration enforcement.”

Several of the apps now under scrutiny were launched during the Trump administration, as immigrant-rights organizers work to counter what they see as a major overreach in enforcement and deportations. Advocates created tools that let community members report possible ICE activity in real time, aiming to alert neighbors and document encounters during enforcement operations. The creators describe the apps as a protective response to the surge in immigration raids. The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked Apple and Google to withdraw several apps that tracked federal agents.

Under President Donald Trump, the administration is implementing an aggressive deportation strategy, led by ICE and Customs and Border Protection, two key arms of DHS. The agency is facing a wave of criticism and scrutiny for its tactics, amid allegations of misconduct and violations of due process.

The letters follow Garbarino’s first full committee hearing since assuming the gavel, held Wednesday, which focused on what Republicans say is a growing link between anti-law-enforcement rhetoric and rising threats and attacks against police and federal officers.

Apple and Google are now being asked to brief the Committee by December 12 on the steps they plan to take.