• by Wendy Davis , June 12, 2026

The Trump administration is urging a federal judge to throw out claims that government officials censored online tools enabling people to report activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The administration's request came in a lawsuit brought in February by the Kreisau Group, which created the app EyesUp, and Kassandra Rosado, who created the Facebook group “ICE Sightings -- Chicagoland."

They alleged that former Attorney General Pamela Bondi and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem unconstitutionally coerced Apple and Meta into removing the tools. (The suit currently names Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as defendants.)

U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso in the Northern District of Illinois ruled in April that Kreisau Group and Rosado were likely to prevail with their argument that the administration violated the First Amendment, and issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the government from attempting to suppress either tool. That injunction will only last while the lawsuit is pending.

The Trump administration now contends that the underlying lawsuit should be dismissed. If the judge agrees and throws out the case, the preliminary injunction will expire and the plaintiffs will not be able to obtain a permanent injunction.

The administration argues in its new motion that Kreisau Group and Rosado lack "standing" to obtain a permanent order, contending that their allegations, even if proven true, wouldn't show that the government will suppress their tools in the future.

"Plaintiffs fail to allege that the defendant officials are actively pressuring Facebook and Apple to keep Eyes Up off the App Store and “ICE Sightings -- Chicagoland” off Facebook," the government argues, adding that the complaint doesn't allege that officials "have communicated with Apple or Meta concerning their speech since last year."

The administration also argues that the allegations in the complaint, if proven true, wouldn't show any "threatening conduct or communication" by Noem, or that Bondi "made any statement to Apple or Meta concerning plaintiffs’ speech that could be construed as coercive."

The complaint referred to several statements by the officials, including statements by both officials regarding a different app -- ICEBlock -- that allowed people to report sightings of immigration officers.

For instance, the complaint noted that Noem said last June that the Department of Homeland Security was working with the Justice Department to determine whether CNN could be prosecuted for running a report about ICEBlock. At around the same time, Bondi said on Fox News that she was eyeing the developer of ICEBlock and that he “better watch out."

Apple removed ICEBlock from the app store on October 2, and took down EyesUp the following day. Around two weeks later, Meta removed Rosado's original ICE reporting group. (She later created a second group “ICE Sightings -- Chicagoland 2.")

The complaint notes that Bondi publicly took credit for ICEBlock's removal, saying at an October 8 event: "We had Apple and Google take down the ICEBlock apps.”

The government counters that the officials' public statements regarding ICEBlock "were not directed at Apple or Meta," and didn't concern EyesUp or the Facebook group.

The complaint also alleged that on October 14 -- the same day Meta removed Rosado's Facebook group -- Bondi tweeted, "Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago. ...The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement."

The administration likewise argues that those statements don't establish governmental coercion.

"There is an obvious alternative account, which is that Attorney General Bondi simply requested that the platforms remove the content because it was putting law enforcement officers at risk. These facts are equally consistent with the allegations," the government argues.

Alonso directed counsel for EyesUp and Rosado to respond by June 30.