More than 900,000 asylum seekers who entered the U.S. using the CBP One app could be impacted by a new Trump administration plan to revoke their status.
The Biden-era CBP One program allowed asylum seekers to apply to enter the U.S. on parole at a handful of border crossings — including Nogales.
Pedro De Velasco, director of education and advocacy with the Nogales-based aid group Kino Border Initiative, says families there were waiting for an average of eight months to secure a fixed number of CBP One appointments available daily.
“You have to download this app, you have to submit all your information, you have to try every single day until you’re finally able to be granted an appointment, and then you have to show up at your appointment. And then, just a few months after, the rules of the game have changed,” he said.
After entering the U.S., asylum seekers still must pursue an asylum claim within a year. It's a complex process that requires the help a lawyer.
De Velasco says the aid group has been reaching out to some asylum seekers who passed through Nogales with appointments through the app, including some who entered just days before Trump took office.
Now, some of the most recent arrivals are receiving notices, and he says it’s not feasible for most of them to have found legal counsel and began the asylum process by now.
“So a lot of these folks, they’re told they have seven days to leave the country,” he said. “They know that by the time they’re notifying people, they’re out of legal options.”
A notice sent by Homeland Security says the parole status will expire in seven days and that the recipient should self deport “immediately.” It says departures should be recorded in the same CBP One app previously used for border appointments. The Trump administration has rebranded it as a self-deportation reporting app called CBP Home.
The agency has not said how many notices have been sent out so far.
