Trump government threatens CNN for promoting app to tracks ICE agents

(MENAFN) The Trump administration is reportedly considering legal steps against CNN following its coverage of a mobile application designed to help users detect and possibly steer clear of U.S. immigration officers.

According to reports, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while speaking during a tour of a recently established ICE detention center in Florida—nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”—disclosed that her department and the Justice Department are evaluating the possibility of pursuing legal action against the media outlet due to its reporting on the IceBlock app.

“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them,” she said, “because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities and operations. We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them. What they’re doing is illegal.”

A representative for CNN responded to the criticism by emphasizing that the app is accessible to the general public and that the network’s report does not amount to endorsing its use.

“This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it. There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this ... nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN,” said the spokesman.

Joshua Aaron, the developer behind IceBlock, explained in an interview that he was motivated to create the app after observing political developments in the U.S., calling it his form of resistance.

He drew a comparison between the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and the actions of Nazi Germany. “We’re literally watching history repeat itself,” he said.

Additional criticism of CNN’s reporting on the app also came from the Trump administration’s official overseeing border matters.

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