If you open up the navigation app Waze on a hot day in Los Angeles, you might be surprised to see that users have reported hazardous "Icy roads" in certain parts of the city. That's because the warning is not about cold and slippery roads, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and activities.
José Luis Ávila writes on El País:
"Technology is helping thousands of immigrants in the United States against the Trump administration's relentless hunt for undocumented foreigners. Apps like Waze and more traditional social networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp groups are being used nationwide to alert people about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
"In the case of the collaborative navigation app Waze — used to find the best route and get traffic updates — users are reporting "icy roads" in hot places like Florida this summer. Of course, these are not real reports, but a tactic to warn migrants of ICE raids."
Waze has hardly been encouraging the use of its app to help people steer clear of ICE activity. The company told CNN: "Intentionally submitting false reports in Waze is against our policies. People can flag inaccurate reports by downvoting or submitting a support ticket – once they're identified, we'll remove them from the map"
But the company can't prevent the hazard from being reported on its app.
Another app has been created specifically for reporting ICE activity. ICEBlock will warn users if ICE has been spotted operating near them. Sam Wolfson writes in The Guardian:
"Launched without fanfare and with no intention of profit in April 2025, IceBlock offers real-time alerts about the presence of agents – while, Aaron claims, fiercely guarding the anonymity of its users. Within two months, the app had soared on the charts in Apple's app store – prompting the US homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, to attack the app and its founder, claiming they were "obstructing justice". She claimed she wanted to work with the Department of Justice to try to prosecute CNN for reporting on the app."
Aaron says that the Trump administration's fury at his app led to the July firing of his wife, who had worked at the Department of Justice. Aaron told The Guardian:
"The whole thing started when Laura Loomer doxed her on X and then said that she spoke to Tom Homan. Homan goes on Newsmax and says that he spoke to the DoJ, which obviously is [headed by] Pam Bondi. Twenty-four hours later, my wife gets a termination letter from the deputy director of the DoJ. It was pretty obvious that it went from Loomer to Homan and to Bondi to "You're fired." That was it."
But Aaron is not backing down.
"Well, you have Pam Bondi accusing me and saying, I better "watch out." Please, come on. I better watch out? Why? I'm protected under the first amendment. This is perfectly legal, and I made sure of that – I checked with multiple constitutional attorneys and criminal attorneys before I released this app, because I was concerned about whether I'm protected. And everyone agreed 100% this is protected speech."
