ICE raid alerts on your cell phone: This is the app that immigrants in California are using to stay one step ahead of ICE
Immigrants in California have started using a new mobile app to receive alerts about upcoming ICE raids in the region. Here’s how it works.
As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations intensify across the country, more immigrants are taking proactive measures to protect themselves. In El Cajon, California, a growing number of residents have started using a mobile app that alerts them to nearby ICE raids, providing a crucial tool for staying informed and aware.
Since Donald Trump returned to the presidency on January 20, ICE has carried out more than 40,000 immigrant arrests, targeting both individuals with criminal records and those without any prior offenses. With reports of irregular detentions increasing, this app aims to notify users about ICE activity in their area, offering real-time updates to help them avoid potential encounters.
How does the ICE raid alert app work?
Speaking with ABC News, Joanna Benavidez, one of the app’s developers, explained that the tool features a risk zone map compiled from user-submitted reports detailing the time and location of recent ICE raids. Patterns suggest that ICE agents typically conduct operations around 11:00 a.m. (local time), avoiding early morning hours.
“They’re not out in the morning. They don’t really get out until like 11 or noon,” Benavidez noted. For security reasons, she declined to disclose the app’s name, but she assured that its use is entirely legal. The app gathers only publicly available data with the goal of keeping communities safe. “We specifically say we do not condone violence, we do not want to interfere with policing at all, but, you know, we want to keep our community safe,” she emphasized.
Since January 20, an average of 10 ICE sightings per day have been reported in El Cajon alone, highlighting the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) intensified efforts to ramp up daily detentions.
ICE crackdown and government response
While immigrant communities seek ways to protect themselves, federal authorities are also working to prevent leaks of ICE’s operational plans. DHS has now authorized the use of polygraph tests to ensure that internal personnel do not disclose confidential information about upcoming raids, aiming to curb unauthorized alerts that could allow immigrants to evade detention.
Original article written by Daniela Barrera, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by Greg Heilman.
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