Since President Trump’s second inauguration final yr, federal immigration enforcement by ICE brokers has expanded dramatically. Brokers have been deployed in main cities with sweeping crackdowns. Controversial and violent strategies of focusing on and detainment have been deployed which have drawn broad scrutiny and widespread protests, notably for the reason that deadly shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Amid this escalating stress, two Rice College freshmen, Jack Vu and Abby Manuel, developed a web-based platform, known as ICE Map, that tracks native reporting about ICE enforcement actions and consolidates verified incidents. The venture goals to assist customers higher perceive the place immigration enforcement exercise is occurring and the way it unfolds in actual time.
Vu and Manuel’s map has drawn larger consideration in latest months, together with amplification by outstanding activists reminiscent of Greta Thunberg, who shared the venture on Instagram. The scholars have additionally introduced their work on the 2025 New(s) Data Symposium at MIT.
I spoke with Vu and Manuel about how they developed this venture, what sort of reception they’ve acquired, and the place they see it going from right here. The dialog has been edited for size and readability.
Jack Vu: We’re each from Houston. I had this volunteer venture with immigrants at an condominium complicated in East Houston. We might go on the market each week and we might play video games and skim books, do hopscotch, and we might educate them American soccer. In April of 2025, they stopped displaying up one Saturday, and we have been like, “What’s going on?”
Somebody with this system goes knocking on doorways and a resident says that ICE got here final weekend, so none of them are leaving their homes. They’re not even going to highschool. So this system stopped as a result of the children couldn’t come anymore. That was fairly infuriating.
Abby Manuel: Jack and I have been in the identical pc science class in highschool, so we labored on lots of completely different tasks collectively. He consulted me about what was occurring along with his program.
I feel we have been each simply actually touched by the difficulty. Rising up within the Houston neighborhood, immigration is simply one thing that’s very prevalent. We’ve an enormous Spanish talking neighborhood. At our college, we began having boards concerning the immigration enforcement. It simply turned very pertinent to on a regular basis life, particularly in Houston.
So we began engaged on the venture proper after we received out of highschool as a result of we had lots of free time. We started working a pair days per week after which the venture morphed into one thing a lot bigger. We simply determined to spend entire days in espresso retailers coding, and we turned actually passionate concerning the endeavor. We launched in all probability solely two weeks after we started engaged on it.
However we continued to work on it to construct our database. One of many largest struggles from the beginning was simply buying sources, as a result of we actually needed to emphasise native voices fairly than simply, “What’s the authorities saying about ICE? What are the nationwide headlines saying about ICE? What are simply the large statistics?” We needed to seize what was occurring on extra of a neighborhood stage.
We stumbled upon this device known as Media Cloud that helped us assemble all these native newspapers via a query-based device. And as soon as we found that, we have been capable of actually proceed amplifying the positioning and simply constructing it over the course of the summer time.
AA: Are you able to clarify what the ICE Map does and the way it works?
JV: It’s a information aggregating platform. We pull 1000’s and 1000’s of articles from across the nation and we throw all of them into this massive pipeline the place we assess in the event that they’re related to ICE exercise. Like, does this actually speak about our supposed function, after which, does it have any location info that might permit us to map it? Based mostly on the result of our pipeline, we’re capable of insert it so folks can go searching, they will have a look at their space, they will have a look at Minneapolis, Houston, Los Angeles, and see related information to ICE exercise.
The benefit of information is that it’s already vetted. Some maps take an strategy the place they crowdsource “consumer studies.” One thing that we thought was troublesome about that course of was that it’s important to type of manually confirm all of those completely different studies, and folks make pretend studies. However all of those native information sources have already executed all that work. We are able to make the most of that to broadcast their work on a bigger stage.
AM: We use nationwide newspaper headlines as properly. We do embody sources even from ICE information releases. We’re simply actually making an attempt to provide folks the large image of what’s occurring, as a result of we predict that info and transparency is an important factor.
AA: What did the method of constructing this device appear to be, from begin to end?
JV: We all the time knew that it might type of be an information drawback. You recognize, displaying stuff on a map, that’s not very onerous. There are some actually good instruments that can assist you try this made by lots of very good folks. However we might spend hours on our laptops, looking for good, constant sources who persistently report ICE exercise in a means that’s vetted, and that’s what led us to Media Cloud, nonprofits, issues like that. The majority of the app is getting good info.
AM: After which as soon as we have now that info, simply filtering what’s truly related, what’s associated to ICE by way of immigration, not simply associated to “ice” by way of winter storms and freezing. Eliminating all these false positives. Additionally determining the placement, ensuring that we’re precisely representing the info, is one other wrestle.
AA: How has the map been used to this point? Can you observe how many individuals entry or work together along with your map?
JV: We’ve round 100,000 customers as we speak, all throughout the nation. We see a broad location. Washington, DC, is primary, adopted by Cleveland and Houston.
AM: By way of how persons are utilizing the positioning, I feel it’s actually simply an info device to assist study what’s occurring in your neighborhood. Our website doesn’t truly assist folks observe ICE brokers of their space. It’s actually simply serving to to tell folks. So I feel most of our customers are simply on the lookout for info on what’s occurring of their area.
AA: What sort of reception has the venture acquired since its launch?
AM: When our website first got here out, we have been making an attempt to put it on the market on our Instagram pages and a few Reddit threads. If you put one thing out to the larger Web, you’re clearly going to get blended evaluations. We undoubtedly acquired a little bit of pushback. And ICE is a extremely popular matter.
There was a little bit of a unfavourable response at first, however I’d say overwhelmingly constructive, particularly for folks in our neighborhood, our buddies, our households, and our different college students in our space. Lots of people in Houston actually noticed the device as a profit fairly than a hurt, and lately, we’ve acquired much more constructive suggestions. The positioning visitors type of plateaued slightly bit after its launch, after which lately it actually elevated. We’ve had lots of latest ICE exercise, so I feel the subject is turning into much more urgent. Individuals are actually persevering with to search for sources.
Simply final week, Greta Thunberg posted our website on her Instagram. So we began to get much more traction. After which Rice College posted about our venture. So all this elevated protection has introduced extra eyes to the positioning, and I feel the responses to all of that in our neighborhood has been actually constructive. And throughout the nation, persons are studying what’s occurring and simply hoping that they will do away with a little bit of the concern and the unknown. Individuals come as much as us and congratulate us on the tasks, and thank us for the work. So our neighborhood has been actually appreciating the device.
AA: How has this elevated consideration and visibility formed the venture?
AM: It’s been wonderful to get extra eyes on the work. That was our intention with the venture from the beginning. We created it in order that it may assist folks, in order that it may attain as many individuals as doable and simply unfold consciousness. We have been invited by that group we partnered with, Media Cloud, to current our work at an MIT symposium in October.
That was in all probability one of many largest alternatives we’ve needed to simply get eyes and or suggestions on our website. Loads of them gave us suggestions on our venture that we have been capable of incorporate, and we’ve made some actually significant connections. Attending to current it to them was the primary time I felt like we realized that, “OK, this device is actually, actually significant.”
AA: In latest weeks, nationwide conversations about ICE have change into much more heated following the high-profile crackdown and protests in Minnesota, together with the deadly shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal brokers. How has this nationwide second formed the way in which persons are responding to your ICE Map venture, and has it influenced how you consider its personal position or accountability on this second?
JV: What’s occurring in Minneapolis could be very revealing as a result of it’s so blatant. With Alex Pretti and Renee Goode, all people can watch the movies and notice what was occurring for themselves. However on the similar time, in the event that they comply with particular information websites, they’d see opinions which are completely not in step with what the video exhibits.
The purpose of ICE Map was all the time to provide folks this info to indicate them precisely what ICE was doing, as a result of we thought that was very damaging to them, proper? What hurts ICE essentially the most is for folks to know the precise reality about what they’re doing. I feel Minneapolis makes that very apparent. The purpose was all the time to get consideration on the positioning. It was all the time to indicate folks, “Right here’s what they’re doing with Houston. Right here’s what they’re doing in Los Angeles and Chicago and New York Metropolis. Right here’s the reality: They’re carrying masks and so they’re working round and beating folks up.”
AA: How do you envision the venture evolving sooner or later?
AM: As we talked about, the most important think about our website is actually simply the knowledge, the sources. So something we will do to simply construct our sources and get as a lot info as we will is actually the purpose. Simply to proceed to assemble what’s on the market and show it in as correct a means as doable and simply ensure that we’re filtering to the most effective of our talents.
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AA: Wanting forward, what are you each hoping to pursue after commencement? Has engaged on this venture formed these objectives?
JV: ICE Map is sort of like a start-up. You construct your product and you then exit and attempt to get folks to have a look at it, possibly care about it slightly bit. I stay up for doing that sooner or later.
AM: I’ve all the time been actually within the intersection between legislation, know-how, and economics. I’m learning economics and pc science at Rice. I’m hoping to take the intersection of these fields and possibly pursue one thing within the realm of legislation after I graduate, possibly go to legislation college. I’m hoping that I can assemble all that collectively. ICE Map is a illustration of these expertise in a means. It captures that legislation and public coverage elements and in addition the know-how and pc science. This has simply been an incredible product for me to discover these pursuits, along with simply doing one thing impactful for my neighborhood, which is all the time a precedence.
AA: There have been studies of Meta blocking entry to the ICE Listing, a database of Division of Homeland Safety staff. How do you see your venture as completely different, and have you ever had any issues about censorship or platform restrictions?
JV: We’ve been involved about it, however we’re assured that what we’re doing is all properly and good. We don’t intend to inform all people, “this man’s an ICE officer, this man’s an ICE officer.” What we do is convey to mild publicly out there information. and that’s impactful. It’s not a matter of going out and bodily standing in entrance of ICE brokers and stopping them from doing what they’re doing, however as an alternative letting public opinion change.
AM: On the finish of the day, we’re actually simply servicing info that’s already on the market and making it simple for folks to seek out, as a result of it’s not simple to determine what’s occurring in your neighborhood, although sources exist. We’re not creating any new info. We’re not monitoring ICE. Regardless of the place you stand on immigration, there’s actually no authorized ambiguity there. I feel everybody ought to agree that the general public ought to perceive what’s occurring with the federal government, what’s occurring of their lives, and what’s occurring of their communities.
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