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The creator of Coquí, a new mobile app that alerts migrants in the United States about raids using community-powered reports, tells EFE in an interview that the idea came from the fear he now sees among his immigrant friends.

The app operates using a crowdsourcing model, meaning users upload images and mark on a map the locations where there is ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) activity, explains its inventor, who asks to be identified only as Peter.

Available for two weeks following initial tests in February, the platform alerts users to ICE raids and the presence of other agents.

People can issue these alerts but also verify whether the reported threat is real in order to avoid false alarms from individuals who might seek to create panic, the developer explains.

“Essentially, any user can drop a point on the map where they see suspicious activity—whether it’s a checkpoint, a raid, or an arrest—and they can instantly alert anyone using the app,” he details.

Users can also “send direct alerts to their friends, family, or anyone else,” he adds.

An App for Supportive Americans

The idea for the app came about because Peter runs an animal shelter in a rural community in upstate New York, where they care for horses, goats, rabbits, ducks, and other animals—with help from immigrants who have become “friends, family, and colleagues.”

“And when this Administration (under President Donald Trump) came in and began carrying out detentions and deportations, we essentially saw a complete change in our community—everyone was living in fear, people were scared to leave their homes,” he recounts.

That’s why Peter created Coquí—named after a small frog native to Puerto Rico, where he once lived—which symbolizes “unity and solidarity” as an effective way to warn people about raids and operations.

But while the app serves migrants, it is also intended for supportive Americans.

“This is for Americans who miss how the United States used to be, who don’t want people living in fear. This has been created, essentially, as a tool to keep everyone informed,” he says.

The App Launches Amid Florida Alerts

The app does not request users’ personal information in order to protect them. However, Peter is currently in Florida due to the high number of alerts posted in the state, where Governor Ron DeSantis has taken pride in implementing Trump’s policies.

“We decided to come to Miami because we started seeing a lot of activity from users—a lot of points on the maps here in Miami—so I decided to come support the users’ activity,” he says.

The program has partnered with rapid response community networks but remains independent of any organization because “this is a grassroots movement.”