Trump shuts down CBP One app, closing a pathway to America
President Donald Trump on Monday officially shut down the Customs and Border Protection-run app designed to help schedule appointments for people seeking eligibility for asylum, closing off a pathway for migrants at the Southern border hoping to enter the United States.
Supporters of the CBP One app had said that the system made the jobs of border agents easier, despite technical difficulties and data privacy questions raised by critics of the platform. It’s estimated that around a million people used the app to enter the country.
The app shutdown came amid a series of other executive orders focused on immigration. Before the election, Trump frequently criticized the app, saying that it was being used for “smuggling” migrants.
A notice on the CBP One website states that the functionalities of the app “that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available.” Any remaining appointments\ have been cancelled. People with scheduled appointments were shown Monday waiting in limbo at the border in Mexico.
A notification of the app’s shutdown and the cancellation of appointments was shared Monday on Facebook, a spokesperson said.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who chairs the House’s progressive caucus, said in a statement that the app was designed in response to Trump’s first term, when “he decimated legal pathways and created even more chaos at the border.”
“To address this,” Jayapal continued, “the Biden administration worked to do as much as possible administratively to rebuild the refugee program, initiate parole programs, and implement the CBP One app, all to decrease pressure on the border and reverse the negative actions of Trump.”
From a technical perspective, CBP One had faced a series of challenges, many of which were documented in an inspector general report released last summer. The system had limited functionality, cybersecurity concerns and couldn’t keep up at times with demand. Similar problems had also been raised by groups focused on humanitarian and immigration rights issues.
