Key facts
- FIRE said the government agreed to make permanent a preliminary injunction entered in the plaintiffs' favor.
- Judge Jorge Alonso's order bars federal officials from demanding or pressuring Facebook and Apple to suppress the group and app.
- Facebook disabled Kae Rosado's group, "ICE Sightings – Chicagoland," which FIRE said followed federal demands.
- Apple removed Eyes Up, an app Mark Hodges created for sharing videos of ICE operations, which FIRE attributed to government pressure.
- The Justice and Homeland Security departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.
The US government agreed to end efforts to press Apple and Facebook to restrict platforms created by two Americans reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, the free speech group FIRE said on Friday, November 13, 2026.
FIRE sued the federal departments of Justice and Homeland Security in February. It alleged that Facebook's disabling of plaintiff Kae Rosado's group, "ICE Sightings – Chicagoland," in response to demands by federal officials violated Rosado's free speech rights. The suit alleged the same violation over Apple's removal of Eyes Up, an app created by plaintiff Mark Hodges for sharing videos of ICE operations, under government pressure.
As part of an agreement with FIRE to resolve the case, the group said the government agreed to make permanent the preliminary injunction the court previously entered in favor of the plaintiffs. An order by US District Judge Jorge Alonso said the federal government "shall take no actions, formal or informal, to demand or pressure" Facebook and Apple to suppress the "ICE Sightings – Chicagoland" Facebook group and the Eyes Up app.
The DOJ and DHS, whose top officials were the defendants in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.
ICE, which is part of DHS, has been the face of Republican President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and deportation drive that rights groups say has violated free speech and due process rights. Human rights groups also say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment, particularly for ethnic minorities, who have raised concerns about racial profiling. Trump says his actions aim to improve domestic security. Democrats, who won majorities in both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections, say they aim to hold the Trump administration accountable for its immigration policies.