On Tuesday, Meta announced that it had removed a Facebook page that tracked immigration agents, following a request from the Department of Justice.
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared on X that due to DOJ outreach, Facebook took down a significant group page dedicated to identifying the locations of ICE officials.
Meta explained that this decision was made because the page went against their rules designed to prevent coordinated harm.
This isn’t surprising, as Meta joins other tech giants in limiting resources used to monitor ICE activities. Just this month, both Apple and Google prohibited downloads of applications that notified users about the presence of U.S. immigration agents, right after the Trump administration called for the removal of a prominent iPhone app.
Bondi emphasized that tracking these agents can endanger Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. However, supporters of the apps argue they are exercising their First Amendment rights to report ICE actions in their communities, particularly as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement efforts nationwide.
Even though the Facebook group for tracking ICE in Chicago was pulled down as of Tuesday evening, many similar groups, with thousands of followers, are still active on the platform.
