"We will pursue them and prosecute them"

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• The mobile app ICEBlock warns users about agents of the police and customs authority ICE.
• Developer Joshua Aaron wants to give illegal immigrants the chance to avoid ICE agents.
• Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced an investigation into Aaron for obstructing justice.
• Kristi Noem from the Department of Homeland Security has now announced that legal action against CNN is also being considered.

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The Trump administration is once again tangling with the press: The Department of Justice is considering legal action against CNN. The reason: the US broadcaster has reported on cell phone apps that warn of police and customs agency ICE operations.

Anyone who sees the agents searching for immigrants who are to be deported can use the ICEBlock app, for example. "When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to counteract it," says its inventor Joshua Aaron, explaining his motives.

Aaron, who comes from a Jewish household, feels reminded of Nazi Germany: "We are literally watching history repeat itself." So far, the app has around 20,000 users, but its creator hopes that this number will soon increase.

Minister: app developers should "watch out"

The aim is to avoid contact with the agents and not to mark them in order to use force against them. The users' data is not stored, emphasizes Aaron. Every sighting of an agent is deleted after four hours.

What does the Minister of Justice say? Isn't the app developer hindering the work of the security authorities, asks "Fox News" presenter Sean Hannity Pam Bondi? "Yes, that's what he's doing," replies the 59-year-old. The agents' well-being is at risk, she says: "[Aaron] is notifying criminals where our federal agents are, and he can't do that."

Her ministry is investigating the matter: "He better watch his back," Bondi warns the developer, who is putting the lives of her employees at risk. "And shame on CNN: I've just seen the clip for the first time." The broadcaster is promoting the app, she criticizes. She calls out to illegal immigrants: "We'll find you!"

"This app gives the bad guys a heads up"

Trump's ICE director and "border czar" is "angry" about the app, says Tom Homan of Fox Business: he cannot understand why CNN is informing people of the existence of ICEBlock. "This app gives the bad guys a heads up that we're coming." However, Homan is not worried about violence, but fewer arrests, he says.

However, it is only a matter of time before his people are also attacked. Attacks on his agents have increased by 500 percent, says Homan. He hopes that the Ministry of Justice will bring those responsible to justice.

Kristi Noem, Director of the Department of Homeland Security, and Donald Trump inspect a new deportation prison called "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, on July 1.

KEYSTONE

Homan's wish has apparently been granted: "We're working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them," Kristi Noem assures when asked on CNN. "Because they are actively encouraging people to evade law enforcement."

65 percent of ICE detainees without criminal records

The Director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is combative: "We will pursue them and prosecute them." CNN would "lie about these operations every day," Noem continues to scold in the presence of Donald Trump.

The Trump administration calls these immigrants "criminals" because they have entered the country illegally. For the majority of those affected, however, this is the only offense they are guilty of, according to the Cato Institute.

Previous convictions of ICE detainees: "Vice" includes offenses in the areas of gambling, prostitution, alcohol and narcotics.

Grafik:Cato Institute

The libertarian think tank took a closer look at ICE data. The result: 65 percent of those taken into custody for deportation have no previous convictions. More than 93 percent have not committed any violent crimes.