NGO weaponized a classroom tool into an ICE watch map

I was known as the techy teacher. If there was an educational tool that helped my students collaborate, speak up, or grasp a concept that would have been harder to explain without technology, I used it. Nearpod for interactive PowerPoint-style lessons. Edpuzzle, which allowed me to turn a YouTube video into a fully interactive presentation with embedded questions and recorded interjections (which was perfect for sub days). And one of my personal favorites was Padlet, an interactive digital bulletin board where students could share ideas, media, and feedback in real time. It facilitated everything from group brainstorming to formative assessments. It was easy to use and intentionally designed to lower communication barriers, especially for my shy students who would usually hesitate to speak up in class.

It was never meant to be a tactical tool for tracking federal law enforcement.

That changed when activists repurposed Padlet to host “People Over Papers,” a crowdsourced map tracking ICE activity in real time. Padlet eventually pulled the project for violating their safety policies, a wise decision. A digital whiteboard used as a tool for education and a professional work environment shouldn’t double as a real-time surveillance system.

But the project didn’t disappear. It rebranded and relaunched as iceout.org. And this time, it came with the backing of a sophisticated nonprofit infrastructure.

The Pueblo Project: funding evasion as “charity”

iceout.org is now operated by the Pueblo Project Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Within just three days of launching its fundraising campaign, the organization set a $200,000 goal and raised nearly $10,000. Concurrently, the group ran a separate “50 States, 50 Days” fundraiser that reached its stated goal in a matter of days, signaling a rapid monetization push tied to the platform.

According to their own fundraising materials, these tax-deductible donations go toward:

• High-traffic server infrastructure to handle real-time reporting surges.
• Cybersecurity and data protection.
• Developing new features to make the site more accessible.

Most Americans see “nonprofit status”  as a shorthand for “public good.” But here, the IRS is essentially subsidizing a live-tracking system designed to help people dodge federal agents. When a tool’s primary purpose is to help individuals evade the law, we have to ask why it’s being treated as a tax-deductible charity.

The site frames itself as an informational resource. In reality, it is live operational awareness. The Department of Justice and officials such as the U.S. Attorney General have repeatedly warned that these types of “watch” apps (like the now-removed ICEBlock) place a target on the backs of federal officers. Tech giants like Apple and Google didn’t remove these apps because of politics; they removed them because they violated “public safety” policies by facilitating interference with law enforcement.

This isn’t just about “knowing your rights.” When you provide the exact GPS coordinates and timestamps of officers in the field, you are creating a dangerous tool for disruption. We have seen this pattern before. Real-time tracking enables activists to mobilize, block vehicles, and physically confront officers attempting to execute lawful warrants. Seems like the definition of obstruction of justice.

The “Worst of the Worst”

Supporters of these maps often claim they are protecting vulnerable families. But the data tells a much grittier story. Roughly 70% of ICE arrests involve individuals who have been charged with or convicted of a crime in the U.S. In just the last month, ICE operations have removed the following individuals (that these watch maps would have helped hide):

• Leonel Antonio Carranza Nunez: Convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
• Eduardo Salgado-Martinez: Convicted of first-degree rape of a child.
• Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto: An MS-13 leader wanted in Honduras for a quadruple homicide.
• Desmond Woodburn: Convicted of murder in Queens, NY.

When iceout.org pings a location, it doesn’t ask the illegal monitoring the site for a rap sheet, it alerts the “worst of the worst” just as quickly as it alerts anyone else. It doesn’t weigh public safety. By providing a shield for everyone, they are providing a shield for child predators, murderers, and gang leaders.

Americans should be subsidizing through the tax code tools designed to undermine the rule of law. Building and funding a real-time surveillance map of federal agents crosses a line, and such organizations should lose their tax-exempt status. The purpose of our nonprofit system is to serve the public good, and a tool which assists in obstruction of justice does not fit that definition. I guess it should not be surprising that the left has taken a tool used to help middle school students communicate more freely and has twisted it into a tax-free ICE evasion system. Radicalizing education is what they do. But that transformation isn’t an act of charity. It’s a threat to public safety and the safety of our federal agents.