Meta removes ICE-tracking Facebook page in Chicago

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

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

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

Meta is the latest technology company to limit the tools used to track ICE agents on its platform. Earlier this month, Apple and Google blocked downloads of phone apps that signal surveillance by U.S. immigration agents, just hours after the Trump administration demanded the removal of one particularly popular iPhone app.

Bondi said such tracking puts Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at risk. But users and app developers say it is their First Amendment right to record what ICE is doing in their areas, and argue that most users are turning to these platforms to protect their own safety as President Donald Trump steps up aggressive immigration enforcement across the country.

While a Facebook group dedicated to ICE surveillance in Chicago appeared to be closed, dozens of other groups, some with thousands of members, remained visible on Facebook as of Tuesday evening.

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