Ranking Member Raskin Presses Apple to Restore ICE-Monitoring Apps Following Trump DOJ Pressure Campaign

After Apple Confirms DOJ Demanded Removal of ICEBlock, Raskin Requests Full Accounting of Apps Removed at the Administration’s Behest

Washington, D.C. (September 29, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, pressed Apple to independently review its decision to remove ICEBlock and similar apps from the App Store after the company confirmed that it acted following pressure from the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ). The apps allow users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and document encounters with federal immigration authorities in their communities.

“Blocking access to these apps at the request of the federal government raises the distinct possibility that Apple is working with government to violate its customers’ First Amendment right to record and report on the activities of their government,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.

In response to Ranking Member Raskin’s June inquiry, Apple said its decision to remove the apps was prompted by two factors: the September 24, 2025 attack on a Department of Homeland Security building in Dallas, and subsequent representations from DOJ that ICEBlock threatened the safety of federal officers. In the year since, however, DOJ has provided no evidence directly connecting ICEBlock to the attack. Although the suspected shooter reportedly searched the App Store for ICE-tracking apps, he did not need one to locate a fixed government building and reportedly found its address using an app that comes standard on Apple devices.

“The House Judiciary Committee takes attacks on law enforcement officers seriously, but there is no evidence that the shooter in Dallas ‘may have used ICEBlock in the lead up to the attack,’ as you suggest,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin. “There appears to be no direct connection between the Dallas incident and the apps you removed.” 

Ranking Member Raskin also questioned Apple’s reliance on statements made by the Department of Justice. In the months since the Dallas attack, the Trump Administration’s accounts of violent encounters with federal immigration agents have been repeatedly contradicted by video and eyewitness evidence. After federal agents killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem immediately labeled them “domestic terrorists” and later refused to correct the record before Congress. Federal judges across the ideological spectrum have raised alarm about the Administration’s pattern of misrepresenting facts and evidence in court.

“Whatever the Department of Justice told Apple about ICEBlock and other similar apps, you would be well advised to interrogate and verify their claims,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.

Ranking Member Raskin is calling on Apple to conduct its own independent review of the removals to determine whether the apps actually violate Apple’s terms of service. He is also demanding a complete list of apps Apple has removed from the App Store following requests from the federal government. 

The letter builds on Ranking Member Raskin’s investigation into the Trump Administration’s efforts to restrict access to ICE-monitoring apps. In February, he wrote to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking information about DOJ’s efforts to pressure Apple and Google to block the apps. In June, he expanded the investigation to Apple and Google, seeking records about their communications with DOJ and their decisions to remove or block the apps.

Click here to read the letter to Apple.