Apple removes US immigration enforcement tracker from app store

Apple removed on Thursday several apps used to anonymously report the movements of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from its app store, reportedly following Trump administration pressure.

The apps had become increasingly popular in recent months as President Donald Trump's deportation drive gained steam in cities around the country.

But Trump administration officials had fiercely criticised the apps as endangering officers, particularly following a deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Texas last month.

Officials said the shooter had used such an app in the days leading up to his attack.

Two detainees died as a result of the shooting and another was wounded, though investigators believe the shooter was targeting ICE personnel.

Protests have occurred at ICE facilities and during ICE operations around the country, as Trump´s mass deportation drive has seen thousands of migrants rounded up, often by masked agents.

ICE tracking apps, including the popular ICEBlock, were inaccessible to AFP reporters on the Apple App Store late Thursday.

Fox Business first reported on the apps' removal, with Attorney General Pam Bondi telling the news outlet that the Justice Department had "reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store - and Apple did so."

Apple did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

In a statement to NBC News, the company said: "Based on information we´ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store."