As immigration enforcement officers like ICE and Customs and Border Protection face increasing targeting across the country, two freshmen students at Rice University in Houston have created yet another real-time ICE tracking map online.
The map highlights immigration enforcement activity around the country and spotlights relevant news articles. What’s most shocking is that it also pinpoints the locations of immigration detainment centers nationwide.
The creation of the map is now being called out as a bad-faith move by supporters of border security efforts, including Christopher Russo with Texans for Strong Borders. “It’s clear that the intent of this is to help people avoid law enforcement and also to disparage the reputation of ICE in the public,” he said.
Russo went on to say that, on top of being a bad-faith move by these leftists, the map creates significant safety risks. “This is going to result in an escalating pattern of violent confrontations between these left-wing radicals and law enforcement,” he explained.
This isn’t the first time something like this has been created. In 2025, the so-called “ICE Block” app made national headlines for doing essentially the same thing. After pressure from the DOJ, it was removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
That begs the question: Is this new ICE tracker legal? Russo has some doubts. “The intent is what counts here, and the intent behind this app is to interfere with law enforcement,” he said. “For that reason, I’m under the impression that this is not legal.”