As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, some migrants are turning to apps that tell them the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to avoid arrest.
Oscar, who came to the U.S. from Venezuela two years ago, drives horses across the country for work.
Oscar, who asked CBS News to change his name to protect his identity, works legally in the country under temporary protected status. But, he says that offers little protection from the threat of an ICE arrest and indefinite detention.
“I am traumatized right now,” Oscar said. “I feel like somebody is behind me, even if I don’t do anything wrong.”
To do his job, Oscar relies on the app Coqui, which shows him if ICE agents are nearby. On a recent trip hauling horses from New York to South Carolina, he spotted ICE activity, forcing him to take an alternate route.
Coqui is one of several apps that have been developed recently to let people know when ICE agents are nearby. ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan told CBS News she thinks such apps are dangerous and could be used to spot and ambush ICE agents.
“There’s always a form of free speech and a lot of things in technology, and we understand that and respect that, but where it crosses a line is when it becomes dangerous, not only to the ICE officers …,” Sheahan said, adding, “If it’s impeding in law enforcement effort, that’s where that line comes in as well.”
Coqui was developed by a somewhat unlikely founder: Peter, who asked CBS News not to use his last name to protect his identity. He runs an animal rescue.
Asked what motivated him to create the app, Peter told CBS News, “There certainly is the desire to protect the people that you love, but there’s also a very practical reason. We need help here, and we need workers to get to work.”
Peter said some of his employees weren’t just not showing up for work, “People were scared to leave their homes.”
Even though he’s here legally, Oscar says the app lets him do his job with a little less fear.
“I’m afraid because these people don’t ask you before getting detained,” he said. “I saw people I know getting detained and being deported.”
Being deported, Oscar says, would mean “the end of my American dream.”
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