The creators of a mobile app and Facebook group used to report sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are asking a federal judge to block the Trump administration from allegedly pressuring major technology companies to remove their platforms.
Attorneys for Kreisau Group, developer of the app EyesUp, and Kasandra Rosado, who created the Facebook group “ICE Sightings — Chicagoland,” argued in filings this week that administration officials improperly coerced Apple and Meta into taking down the tools.
The filings, submitted to U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso in the Northern District of Illinois, contend that officials “demanded that Apple and Facebook censor speech” while threatening potential criminal consequences tied to online tools that track ICE activity.
“Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on this unrebutted record,” the attorneys wrote.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed in February, when Rosado and Kreisau Group sued then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi and then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The suit now names Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as defendants.
The plaintiffs allege the officials violated the First Amendment by effectively compelling private companies to remove lawful speech. They are seeking an injunction to prevent further government interference.
According to the complaint, statements by administration officials signaled potential legal action against those associated with such platforms. In July, Noem said the Department of Homeland Security was working with the Justice Department to explore whether CNN could face prosecution for reporting on a separate app, ICEBlock, which also allowed users to report sightings of immigration officers. Around the same time, Bondi said publicly that the app’s developer “better watch out.”
Apple removed ICEBlock from its app store on Oct. 2 and removed EyesUp the following day. Meta disabled Rosado’s Facebook group on Oct. 14. The group, created in January 2025, had grown to about 76,000 members before its removal, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Rosado later created a second group that has attracted tens of thousands of members.
On the day the group was removed, Bondi said in a social media post that Facebook had taken down a page allegedly used to “dox and target” ICE agents, adding that the Justice Department would continue working with technology companies to address platforms that could incite violence. Noem issued a similar statement crediting the administration’s efforts.
The Justice Department has opposed the request for an injunction, arguing that even if the plaintiffs’ claims are true, they do not prove the removals were the result of government coercion. Government attorneys said Apple and Meta may have acted independently under their existing content moderation policies.
They also argued that statements from administration officials cannot be considered threats because they were made after the platforms had already been removed.
Lawyers for Rosado and Kreisau disputed that reasoning, saying statements describing the government’s actions would naturally follow the removals. They also argued that both companies had previously allowed the tools to operate without issue.
“The tech companies were aware of the Eyes Up app and the Chicagoland group and never said they violated the platforms’ respective policies — not until the government stepped in,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.
Judge Alonso has not indicated when he will rule on the request.
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