ICEBlock developer's wife sacked from US government job

The wife of a developer who created ICEBlock, an app that allows people to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, has been fired from her US government job.

Joshua Aaron, developer of ICEBlock, told The National that his wife, who is an auditor, had nothing to do with the app that has become a source of anger at the White House.

What is ICEBlock?

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He told The National that Laura Loomer, a far-right activist well known for her controversial and xenophobic comments, posted information about his wife on X last week.

“I reviewed Carolyn’s LinkedIn page, and she has been working for the DOJ [Department of Justice) since January 2021 when Joe Biden assumed office,” said Ms Loomer's post.

Mr Aaron said that Ms Loomer then passed along information about his wife, Carolyn Feinstein, to White House border czar Tom Homan, who told the right-wing news outlet Newsmax that he flagged the information to US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“On Friday, my wife was fired from her position with the DOJ, Office of US Trustee,” he said. His wife was a forensic auditor in one of the DOJ's offices in Austin, Texas, he said, “who loved her job and always had stellar annual performance reviews”.

Mr Aaron said he was certain she was fired because of his development of ICEBlock, along with his activism related to undocumented immigrants.

In a statement to The National, a DOJ representative defended its actions in terminating Ms Feinstein.

“For several weeks, the Department of Justice inquired into this former employee’s activities and discovered she has a sizable interest in All U Chart, Incorporated, the company that holds the IP for ICEBlock,” the representative said.

“ICEBlock is an app that illegal aliens use to evade capture while endangering the lives of ICE officers by disclosing their location ... this DOJ will not tolerate threats against law enforcement or law enforcement officers.”

In an interview with the blogger and podcaster Allison Gill, host of The Daily Beans, Ms Feinstein said she was fired via email with no explanation.

Mr Aaron said that contrary to speculation, his wife's job had absolutely nothing to do with immigration policy. “She handled bankruptcy fraud and had nothing to do with ICEblock,” he said.

During an interview last week with Newsmax, Mr Homan acknowledged that he received information about the developer's wife.

“Laura Loomer sent that to me and I sent it to the DOJ, so we'll see where it goes,” Mr Homan said. ICEBlock was also under investigation by the Justice Department, he said. “What he's doing is giving a heads up to criminals,” claimed Mr Homan, saying that the app puts ICE agents in danger. “If it's not illegal, it should be,” he added.

Meanwhile, ICEBlock has been downloaded more than a million times from Apple's iOS App Store. It continues to attract attention and a rise in popularity as President Trump increases funding for ICE, whose mandate includes detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants.

Critics say agents arrest and deport people with little concern for their legal rights, including due process. “When I saw what was happening in this country I knew I had to do something to fight back,” said Mr Aaron, who spoke with The National last week about the app.

Mr Aaron lives in Texas, a state with a large undocumented immigrant population. Mr Aaron, who is Jewish, told The National that he had decided to create the app after meeting Holocaust survivors and learning about Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Nazi Germany.

The app aims to alert users to the presence of ICE officials within an 8km radius. It is powered by crowdsourced data, relying on people to report ICE agents wherever they might be.

The app also allows users to describe the vehicles ICE might be using and their attire. When a sighting is reported, push notifications are sent to nearby users. Mr Aaron acknowledges criticism that the software could be misused, as the Trump administration has claimed violence against ICE agents is on the rise.

“Please note that the use of this app is for information and notification purposes only,” reads a disclaimer appearing throughout ICEBlock, with an added warning that the app should not be used “for the purposes of inciting violence or interfering with law enforcement”.

Despite the disclaimers, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has suggested that those promoting the app should face prosecution. “We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them because what they’re doing is actually encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activity operations,” she recently told a reporter.

As for Mr Aaron, US Attorney General Pam Bondi recently told Fox News that the Justice Department was “looking into him”. Various legal precedents, however, have tended to protect those who report the potentially illegal actions of law enforcement.

Mr Aaron is continuing to stand by the app and said that there is nothing illegal about it. “This app is to inform, not obstruct,” he said last week.

Mr Aaron also accused ICE of having disregard for individual circumstances with their arrests, referring to college students being targeted for their decision to protest, mothers being separated from their children, or detainees not being given access to legal representation.

“That is not something I can abide and is the reason ICEBlock was created,” he continued.