News

Meta removes ICE-tracking Facebook page in Chicago at the request of the Justice Department

Meta removes ICE-tracking Facebook page in Chicago at the request of the Justice Department

Meta Photo: Shutterstock


(AP) – Meta has removed a Facebook page used to track the presence of immigration agents at the request of the Department of Justice, the company confirmed on Tuesday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that “following outreach” from the DOJ, Facebook removed a “large group page” that was being used to target ICE officials.

Meta said in a statement that the group “was removed for violating our policies against coordinated harm.”

Meta is the latest tech company to restrict tools used to track ICE agents on its platform. Earlier this month, Apple and Google blocked downloads of phone apps that flag sightings of U.S. immigration agents, just hours after the Trump administration demanded that one particularly popular iPhone app be taken down.

Bondi has said that such tracking puts Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at risk. But users and developers of the apps say it’s their First Amendment right to capture what ICE is doing in their neighborhoods — and maintain that most users turn to these platforms in an effort to protect their own safety as President Donald Trump steps up aggressive immigration enforcement across the country.

While a Facebook group for ICE sightings in Chicago does appear to have been taken down, as of Tuesday evening, dozens of other groups, some with thousands of members, remained visible on Facebook.

Recent Headlines

13 hours ago in Entertainment

Kelsey Grammer, 70, announces the birth of his 8th child: ‘Isn’t that lovely?’

It's a boy — named Christopher — for 70-year-old actor Kelsey Grammer and his wife Kayte Walsh. The "Frasier" star announced his latest baby news on Monday's edition of the "Pod Meets World" podcast.

13 hours ago in Entertainment

40 years later, Michael J. Fox looks back on ‘Back to the Future’

It's been 40 years since "Back to the Future" debuted in theaters, but neither time, nor Parkinson's disease has done much — regardless of what he says — to diminish Fox's boyish good nature.

18 hours ago in Trending, World

Hurricane Melissa is set to hit Jamaica as its strongest storm since records began

Hurricane Melissa was set to pummel Jamaica on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.

18 hours ago in Lifestyle, Trending

How Americans will be celebrating Halloween, according to a new AP-NORC poll

About two-thirds of U.S. adults will celebrate Halloween in some way this year, with parents of kids under 18 especially likely to have plans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

18 hours ago in Entertainment

A newly discovered Dr. Seuss manuscript will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary

A newly discovered Dr. Seuss manuscript featuring the Cat in the Hat and celebrating the United States will be published next year, just in time for America's 250th anniversary.