The removal of an ICE-monitoring app almost a year ago has triggered new questions about whether the US Department of Justice crossed a constitutional line in its dealings with Apple and Google.

On Friday, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin vowed to investigate the Department of Justice over allegations that it pressured tech giants into removing ICE tracking apps.

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Raskin asks, "Why is the Department of Justice (DOJ) violating the First Amendment by coercing big tech to block access to lawful apps that the American people use to record, report, and monitor the actions of our own government officers?"

He calls the apps "perfectly lawful," which they are. He notes that the First Amendment and follow-on court rulings are clear that the US populace has the right to record, report, discuss, and criticize government actions.

Here's the First Amendment in it's entirety.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Notably the feds did not avail itself of the court system to get Apple and Google to remove the apps. Bondi did, however, reach out directly to Apple and Google, demanding the app's removal, alleging it was putting agents at risk.

This way, Apple and Google's removal would be interpreted by law as their own choices, rather than a First Amendment violation.

Regardless of how the apps got taken down, Raskin refers to the administration's efforts to remove and prohibit such apps from Apple and Android app stores as a campaign of "coercion and censorship," with the intention of silencing the Trump Administration's critics. He also suggests that it could "suppress any evidence that would expose the Administration's lies, including its Orwellian attempts to cover up the murders of Renee and Alex."

As Politico noted on Friday, ultimately Bondi could choose to ignore the letter entirely. However, with the approaching midterms, that may not be the wisest decision.

ICEBlock, blocked

The story starts in April 2025, when Joshua Aaron released the ICEBlock app. The app allows users to self-report citing of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents within the United States.

ICEBlock allowed users to report locations of ICE agents. Sightings were visible within a five-mile radius for four hours, then automatically expired.

In July, Bondi publicly threatened Aaron on Fox News. "We are looking at him," she said, "And he better watch out."

In October, the DOJ petitioned both Apple and Google to remove ICEBlock. Apple removed ICEBlock and defended the DOJ's logic, stating that the company had received information about "safety risks associated with ICEBlock."

The administration, for its part, says that the removal of the apps was necessary to prevent violent action against federal immigration agents. Attorney General Bondi claimed that the app had been used to orchestrate attacks against ICE agents — though no evidence of such attacks had ever surfaced.

In December, the House Committee on Homeland Security sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, requesting details about the ways the companies are preventing more ICE-monitoring apps from appearing in their respective app storefronts. They continued to push the narrative that these kinds of apps risk "jeopardizing the safety of [Department of Homeland Security] personnel."

As a result of ICEBlock's removal, protesters showed up in Santa suits outside of Apple Pioneer Place in Portland, Oregon to demand the return of ICEBlock. Additionally, Aaron lawyered up and prepared to sue the US government, on the grounds that no government entity has the ability to coerce a private entity, publicly or privately, intentionally or unintentionally, to perform an action.