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Google and Apple pulled into Raskin’s ICE investigation

The Democrat is ramping up a probe into the Trump administration’s role in blocking apps used to track immigration enforcement efforts.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks during a hearing.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill on July 10, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

By Alfred Ng

Apple and Google are facing a Democratic probe accusing them of acquiescing to the Trump administration’s demands that they remove apps used to track and document Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent letters to both companies Tuesday demanding all documents detailing their communications about the apps with the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, according to documents first obtained by POLITICO.

Raskin launched an investigation into accusations the Trump administration pressured Google and Apple into blocking apps like ICEBlock, ICE Immigration Alerts and Red Dot in February, a probe that came as the Democrats challenged the White House’s immigration crackdown and use of force against protesters. The apps crowdsourced sightings of immigration enforcement officers and functioned as community alerts about DHS operations.

Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that the companies remove the apps from their stores, saying they threatened officers’ safety. Apple and Google said they removed the apps for violating their platforms’ policies.

Raskin said Apple and Google were helping the Trump administration violate First Amendment rights by removing the apps.

“What drove this decision was not functionality, not safety, and not your anti-discrimination guidelines. It was governmental pressure, plain and simple,” Raskin said in the letter.

DHS said in a statement that its officers have faced an increase in attacks and death threats, and that the apps interfere with immigration enforcement.

“ICE tracking apps put the lives of the men and women of law enforcement in danger as they go after terrorists, vicious gangs, and violent criminal rings,” the agency said.

The White House, Justice Department, Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.

Raskin already sent a letter to the Justice Department in February demanding it turn over its communications with Apple and Google, which the agency ignored, committee Democratic spokesperson Emily Stellakis told POLITICO.

The investigation could become a larger headache for the tech companies and the Trump administration if Democrats flip the House in November, giving Democrats subpoena power.

Joshua Aaron, the developer of ICEBlock — an immigration enforcement tracking app that caught the Trump administration’s attention before the app store crackdown — said he was glad that Raskin is escalating the investigation.

“Obtaining the documents and communications from both Apple and Google is of vital importance. The public needs to understand just how corrupt this administration really is, and the lengths they will go to subvert the law and lie to the American people,” Aaron said to POLITICO.