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The company has removed apps that enabled users to identify observations of officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The technology giant declared it had eliminated the tracking application from its application marketplace after police notified them about possible "dangerous implications" connected with this software and "related programs".

According to a declaration sent to news outlets, the Attorney General the Attorney General had "requested" the app's withdrawal stating it was "designed to put enforcement personnel at risk".

The programmer countered that such claims were "completely untrue" and alleged Apple of "capitulating to an authoritarian regime".

History of the Controversial App

ICEBlock is among several applications introduced in recent months in reaction to increased immigration enforcement activities across the US.

Critics - including the developer of ICEBlock - allege the authorities of abusing its influence and "creating fear" to American communities.

The free software works by displaying the whereabouts of enforcement agents. It has been downloaded in excess of a 1 million instances in the United States.

Risk Factors

Nevertheless, officials argued it was being used to target immigration agents, with the federal investigators indicating that the individual who attacked an ICE facility in the city in recently - killing two individuals - had utilized comparable applications to monitor the movements of agents and their vehicles.

Through an official declaration, the technology firm said: "We developed the App Store to be a secure and reliable platform to discover software.

"According to intelligence we've obtained from authorities about the potential dangers connected to this application, we have eliminated it and similar apps from the App Store."

Creator's Reaction

Nevertheless its developer, the programmer, denied it created a threat.

"This application is no different from crowd sourcing traffic enforcement, which every notable mapping application, such as the company's proprietary navigation software," he said.

"This represents constitutionally protected expression under the constitutional protection of the American Constitution."

Mr Aaron - who has been employed in the technology sector for years - previously explained he developed the app out of worry over a surge in immigration raids.

"I definitely monitored pretty closely during the prior leadership and then I listened to the rhetoric during the election race for the present," he said.

"My brain started thinking about what was about to transpire and what I could accomplish to keep people safe."

Official Response

The White House and Federal Bureau of Investigation had denounced the software after it debuted in recent months and usage increased.