AUSTIN (KXAN) — Law enforcement sources informed KXAN that at least 50 federal agents arrived in Austin this week for another round of immigration raids.
This comes as increased immigration enforcement efforts are happening around the country. KXAN is working to confirm more details about the operations.
The Austin community, including those in the technology space, try to help people know where those raids may be happening.
Joshua Aaron, who lives in the Austin area, created an app called ICEBlock. According to the app’s description in the Apple Store, it’s designed to help users, “Stay informed about reported ICE sightings, within a 5 mile radius of your current location, in real-time.”
“ICEBlock is a community-driven app that allows you to share and discover location-based reports without revealing any personal data,” the description continues.
Aaron said the app now has over 1 million users, and continues to grow.
“It’s growing by about 10,000 plus every single day,” Aaron said.
There are no metrics related to where app users live, or where most reports are happening due to how the app is designed, Aaron told KXAN.
“The whole point of ICE Block is 100% anonymity for the users and just across the board,” Aaron said. “Do we see an increase when big events happen? I’m sure we do.”
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