ICE’s Bluesky Account Sparks Blocklist Arms Race: How Users Are Fighting Back Against Government Presence

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become a lightning rod on Bluesky—not for its policies, but for its sudden rise as the third most-blocked account on the platform.

ICE’s official account is now blocked by over 60% of Bluesky users, a statistic that underscores the platform’s growing tension between government presence and user autonomy.

Eugen Rochko, founder of Mastodon, remarked on the broader implications of ICE’s presence: “Abolish ICE doesn’t go nearly far enough to address the problem in the U.S.” His statement highlights the political polarization surrounding ICE’s role in immigration enforcement, which has spilled into the digital realm.

ICE joined Bluesky on November 26, 2025, and received verification shortly afterward. This move followed a pattern set by other Trump-era agencies and the White House, which began posting on Bluesky in October 2023.

The White House account is now the second most-blocked on the platform, illustrating a trend of users resisting perceived partisan messaging from federal entities.

Bluesky’s lack of native moderation tools for blocking government accounts has forced users to rely on third-party services like Clearsky and Bluecrawler. These tools analyze account activity and provide data on block rates, but they face technical limitations—such as delayed updates and incomplete metadata—which can hinder real-time verification efforts.