The secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, says she is collaborating with the Department of Justice to explore potential legal action against CNN for its reporting on a mobile app that alerts users to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their vicinity. 

Speaking alongside President Trump during a tour of a migrant detention camp near Ochopee, Florida, Ms. Noem said her agency is “consulting with the Justice Department to determine whether CNN’s coverage of this app warrants prosecution. The safety and integrity of our law enforcement operations are our top priority.”

“What they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities, operations, and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them with the partnership” of Attorney General Bondi, “if we can, because what they’re doing, we believe, is illegal,” Ms. Noem said.

Mr. Trump echoed her sentiments, hinting at possible legal action against the network. “CNN may very well be prosecuted for promoting this tool,” he told reporters. He suggested that the network’s focus on the app could undermine ICE operations.

CNN, in response to the criticism, is defending its reporting as factual and responsible.

“CNN reported on a publicly available app, which is generating attention across the United States, and reached out to ICE for comment prior to publication. After CNN published its reporting, ICE posted a response, which is now included in the story,” a CNN spokesman told Fox News Digital.

ICEBlock enables users to report the location of ICE agents and alerts nearby app users. The app’s creator, Joshua Aaron, has positioned ICEBlock as a tool to “fight back” against deportation efforts, calling these actions reminiscent of “Nazi Germany.” His comparison has triggered mixed reactions, with supporters rallying behind the app as a resistance tool and critics accusing it of reckless endangerment.

“We’re literally watching history repeat itself,” Mr. Aaron said in an interview with CNN. He defended ICEBlock by pointing to built-in safeguards meant to prevent misinformation or misuse. Reports on the app expire after four hours, and users are restricted to posting reports within a five-mile radius and no faster than one every five minutes.

The app also includes an explicit warning discouraging violence or interference with law enforcement. “Please note that the use of this app is for information and notification purposes only. It is not to be used for the purposes of inciting violence or interfering with law enforcement,” the warning reads.

The White House on Monday accused CNN of “inciting and encouraging violence” in its reporting on ICEBlock.  

“Surely, it sounds like this would be an incitement of further violence against our ICE officers,” the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said. “There’s been a 500 percent increase in violence against ICE agents, law enforcement officers across the country who are just simply trying to do their jobs and remove public safety threats from our communities.”

She added: “And that’s something we as Americans, including journalists at CNN, who live in many of these cities where illegal aliens are hiding and were let in from the previous administration, should be very grateful for. We haven’t seen the clip. We’ll take a look at it, but certainly, it’s unacceptable that a major network would promote such an app that is encouraging violence against law enforcement officers who are trying to keep our country safe.”

New statistics from DHS show that assaults against ICE and federal agents, who have dramatically ramped up their enforcement efforts in recent months, are up nearly 700 percent over the same time last year. For the first six months of 2024, there were 10 assaults; so far this year, there have been 79 assaults, DHS said.

The administration’s border tsar, Tom Homan, also blasted CNN for reporting on the new app. “It’s disgusting,” he said on Fox News. “I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys. It’s already a dangerous job.”

“This is horrendous that a national media outlet would be out there trying to forecast law enforcement operations,” he said. “I think DOJ needs to look at this. They’re crossing that line. We need to send a strong message that we need to protect the law enforcement officers.”