Long Island ICE tracking alert system not 'going anywhere,' founder pledges as administration cracks down on crowdsourcing apps

A push alert system, launched over the summer to notify users about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent sightings on Long Island, will remain active and is protected from federal interference by the Trump administration because the platform is not available for download on the app store, the group’s organizer said Monday.

Last week, Apple and Google blocked downloads of apps that flag sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide, bowing to pressure from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who called for them to be removed from the app store because they jeopardized the safety of law enforcement.

But, the founder of Islip Forward, which has alerted users to 146 sightings of ICE agents in Nassau or Suffolk since June, said Islip Forward uses a workaround to avoid federal intervention.

"When we got this system set up, we knew it was going to be tested in ways that we cannot imagine," said Ahmad Perez, founder of Islip Forward. "And so we wanted to make sure that this was completely anonymous and that this would outlive any threat that might come from the federal government, which is really what this tool is just doing. It's providing transparency."

On its website, Islip Forward allows users to download an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tracker app to their smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.

The app, which the group said has been launched more than 180,000 times to date, is not hosted on an app store but instead can be downloaded directly from Islip Forward's web browser.

An U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Islip Forward initially focused on ICE sightings in Brentwood and Central Islip, but they've since expanded the crowdsourcing service to all of Long Island.

Neighborhood citizens are encouraged to document, from a safe distance, when and where ICE is spotted on the island, and to provide a photo. Perez and his team will then work to verify the tip and then quickly send out an alert to residents about the sighting within 15 to 25 minutes.

"This type of transparency is really the foundation of the American government, so for it to be threatened right now by a regime that really just wants to see folks scared is really heartbreaking," said Perez, adding that his organization has legal counsel advising them. "But we find comfort knowing that what we're doing is completely legal and that our app won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

Islip Forward is not alone.

Last summer, OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group on Suffolk's East End, announced that it was creating "Operation Stand and Protect," a rapid response network that uses social media to share sightings of ICE raids and arrests to warn migrants to avoid those areas. The group said it has not faced any pushback from the administration for its efforts.

Last week, Apple and Google announced they would prevent users from downloading several popular tracking apps, including ICEBlock, that were available for download in the app store.

In a letter to Apple, Bondi contends the apps were "designed to put U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at risk just for doing their jobs."

President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation program in U.S. history, arguing that illegal immigration was out of control and that many of those who've entered the country are dangerous criminals.

Developers of the apps, however, have said their platforms are designed to help members of the immigrant population — including many who have some kind of legal status — protect themselves as ICE conducts aggressive raids in major cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

In recent months, cellphone videos have captured violent confrontations between ICE agents and members of the public who were documenting the enforcement actions. 

To date, Perez said there have been no confrontations between Islip Forward users and ICE agents.

ICE officials have said the man who shot at a Dallas U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility last month, killing two detainees, used a tracking app, although it remains unclear if the platform was used in planning the attack.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.