Wife of ICEBlock developer considers legal options after firing from Justice Department


Cody Combs
  • English
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A woman who was fired as an auditor for the US government because of an immigration police-tracking app her husband created says she is weighing her legal options.

The Department of Justice says Carolyn Feinstein has a “sizeable interest” in the company which developed the ICEBlock app, ALL U Chart. Trump administration officials have taken issue with the app, which has almost one million downloads and allows users to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

“ICEBlock is an app that illegal aliens use to evade capture while endangering the lives of ICE officers by disclosing their location,” a Justice Department representative told The National. “This DoJ will not tolerate threats against law enforcement or law enforcement officers.”

Ms Feinstein, who worked from the DoJ's Austin, Texas office as a forensic auditor, was fired from her job at the weekend. She told The National that while she owns a portion of All U Chart, her husband, Joshua Aaron, is the majority owner. She said she is listed as a stakeholder so she could wind down the company in the event something were to happen to her husband.

“I had no part in developing the app, coding the app, or marketing the app in any way,” she said. “My only relation to it is that I'm married to the creator.”

She said she is exploring potential legal options to challenge her dismissal, and looking for new career opportunities. “There's going to be bigger and better things out there,” she said.

Mr Aaron said his company, All U Chart, is currently working on a healthcare app unrelated to the ICEBlock app that has become the source of ire in the Trump administration. Since its release this year, the app has gained popularity as President Donald Trump approved significant funding increases for ICE, whose mandate includes detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants.

The DOJ has accused Carolyn Feinstein of having a 'sizeable interest' in her husband's company, All U Chart, which developed the ICEBlock app. Photo: Joshua Aaron
The DOJ has accused Carolyn Feinstein of having a 'sizeable interest' in her husband's company, All U Chart, which developed the ICEBlock app. Photo: Joshua Aaron

Masked ICE agents have swept up thousands of migrants in a nationwide dragnet that has sometimes snared US citizens and green card holders. Current and former detainees have said they were kept in dismal conditions in ICE custody, charges the agency denies.

“When I saw what was happening in this country I knew I had to do something to fight back,” said Mr Aaron, who lives in Texas, a state with a large undocumented immigrant population. Mr Aaron, who is Jewish, told The National in an interview last week 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 and relies on people reporting where ICE agents are. ICEBlock also allows users to describe the vehicles ICE agents are using and the clothes they are wearing. When a sighting is reported, push notifications are sent to nearby users.

It is only available for iPhone. According to Mr Aaron, the privacy settings he deems necessary for ICEBlock are not yet possible on Android devices. US Attorney General Pam Bondi has suggested that the app should be considered illegal, and recently told Fox News that the Justice Department was “looking into” the developer, Mr Aaron.

Mr Aaron acknowledges criticism that the software has the potential to 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”. Mr Aaron says ICEBlock is strictly designed to inform, and not to obstruct.

Disclaimers on how ICEBlock is to be used appear prominently in the app. Photo: Joshua Aaron
Disclaimers on how ICEBlock is to be used appear prominently in the app. Photo: Joshua Aaron

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 since January 2021 when Joe Biden assumed office,” said Ms Loomer's post.

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

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Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer

Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon 

Sector:  Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing

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2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

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1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

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November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

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December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

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Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites

The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.

It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.

“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.

The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

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How tumultuous protests grew
  • A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
  • Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved 
  • Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
  • At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
  • Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars 
  • Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
  • An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital 
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Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

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Our legal columnist

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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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Gifts exchanged
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