The US criticizes a raid alert app but remains silent on the one that reports undocumented people

U.S., July 1. - An app for reporting the presence of immigration agents in neighborhoods has angered the White House, which on Monday criticized the publicity it was giving it, despite having remained silent on the ultraconservative platform used to report undocumented immigrants in exchange for payment.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt lashed out today at CNN for an interview with Joshua Aaron, creator of the ICEBlock app, which allows users to report the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and potential raids in communities.

"It's certainly unacceptable for a major network to promote an app that encourages violence against law enforcement agents trying to keep our country safe," Leavitt said at a press conference.

ICEBlock is designed to be an "early warning system" for users when ICE is operating nearby, Aaron explained to CNN.

Users can add a location or "pin" on a map showing where they saw the agents, along with optional notes, such as what they were wearing or the type of vehicle they were driving, allowing other users within a radius of 8 kilometers to receive an automatic alert notifying them of the sighting.

Aaron, who has been in the tech world for more than two decades, said he decided to create this app because the deportation policy reminds him of Nazi Germany and believes history is repeating itself.

The app, which already has more than 20,000 users, mostly in Los Angeles, which has been rocked by massive raids since the first week of June, was also criticized by Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE:

"Announcing an app that essentially targets federal agents is disgusting," he said in a statement.

The ICE chief warned that his agents "are already facing" a 500% increase in assaults, and the app's advertising "incites" violence against them with "a national megaphone."

However, Lyons did not address the reports of alleged excessive use of force by immigration agents, many of them captured on video, including against U.S. citizens. (Text and Photo: Cubasí)