U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracking apps are facing renewed scrutiny after federal officials said the gunman in last week's shooting at a Dallas immigration detention facility had used one.

The apps, including the widely used ICEBlock, are designed to alert users when immigration agents may be nearby. Most rely on crowdsourced reports, similar to how apps like Waze alert users to traffic enforcement officers.

ICEBlock, developed by Austin-based tech entrepreneur Joshua Aaron, has more than a million users. Aaron said the app is intended to help people avoid confrontations with law enforcement — not interfere with operations.

"This is simply, I saw something in public and I am alerting other users that I saw something so that they can avoid that confrontation,"

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