After IceBlock’s launch in April, Kristi Noem attacked developer Joshua Aaron and his wife was fired from the DoJ. The attention has only led to more raids being reported
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or many undocumented immigrants living in the US, the constant threat of Ice raids has turned their homes into prisons. Leaving the house to go to work, school, buy groceries or the doctor’s office all carry unthinkable risks.
It’s a problem that Joshua Aaron wanted to tackle. A former indie musician (he played bass in 2000s buzz band The Rosenbergs and later fronted his own group Stealing Heather) turned app entrepreneur, he set about making an app that could spot Ice and alert people, the same way drivers let other drivers know about traffic stops on Waze.
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.
