Apple removed an immigrant-rights mobile app that let users capture and archive video evidence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encounters, cutting off iOS distribution for a tool relied on by legal aid groups to preserve documentation of alleged abuses. 404 Media reported that the takedown targeted the successor project to a community-built ICE raid tracker, and that Apple told the developers the evidence-collection service violated App Store policies despite its focus on secure storage rather than officer geolocation.

Activist response and context

MIT Technology Review noted the removal came just weeks after Apple pulled the earlier raid-tracking app from its store, leaving immigrant-rights organizers without sanctioned iOS tools for either monitoring ICE activity or safeguarding footage of field operations. Advocacy organizations warned that losing both apps in rapid succession will slow notifications to impacted families and complicate coordination with attorneys who rely on the captured video archives during emergency response efforts.

Platform governance impact

The twin removals underscore how App Store gatekeeping can disrupt grassroots documentation infrastructure. Advocates told reporters they plan to keep distributing Android builds and are weighing progressive web app alternatives, but they argue Apple’s enforcement choices effectively silence rapid evidence-gathering workflows for communities most affected by immigration raids.