Has the CBP One App Been Shut Down?
NOGALES, MEXICO - JANUARY 21: A immigrant from Venezuela tries in vain to access the CBP One app day a day after the second inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump on January 21, 2025 in Nogales, Mexico. The incoming administration shut down the app which was created by the Biden administration to allow migrants to schedule appointments to gain entry into the United States. Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office declaring a state of emergency at the U.S. southern border, halting asylum claims and launching a campaign of mass deportations. The Venezuelan woman said she had been waiting with her family in Mexico City for 11 months for an appointment with U.S. immigration officials which they had scheduled with the app. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
New President Donald Trump started his promised immigration crackdown right after taking office, declaring illegal immigration a national emergency and ordering the Pentagon to aid with border security. Trump also took steps to restrict birthright citizenship and issued an asylum ban. One of the steps taken to restrict asylum can be directly traced to the CBP One App, which allowed immigrants seeking asylum to submit information and schedule appointments and which has now been officially shut down.
According to American Immigration Council, the CBP One App was launched by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on October 28, 2020. Trump was president during that time and it was to help cargo inspections. The Biden administration expanded the CBP One App in 2023 to curb people crossing the border illegally to request asylum. After its institution, the app became the only way for people to request asylum. Now, all existing appointments have been canceled, many of whom have been waiting months for said appointments.
A notice on the official CBP website reads, “Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been canceled.”
Arelis R. Hernández, a journalist for the Washington Post, clarified that “everyone of these folks submitted biometric, biographical & other ID info to the U.S. govt via app in order to enter the country LEGALLY through this Biden admin program that sought to cut illegals entries.”
President Trump also called for his administration to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” program, which made it so non-Mexican immigrants were forced to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their asylum cases. The new U.S. President also promised mass deportation of illegal immigrants is imminent.
As the United States goes forward with these changes, Mexico announced ConsulApp Contigo, an app that will allow migrants to warn relatives and the nearest Mexican consulate if they believe they are about to be detained by the U.S. Immigration Department. Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs likened it to a panic button. “In case you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you push the alert button, and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate,” he said.