SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The legal status of thousands of migrants allowed into the US while their asylum claims play out is now up in the air. The Trump administration now says they have to go. The migrants all used a Biden-era app called 'CBP One'.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the move on Monday.
The CBP One app was how the Biden administration wanted people to request asylum. The administration asked that migrants make appointments and present themselves to a port of entry on the day of their appointment.
According to the Associated Press, more than 900,000 people were let into the country while their cases played out.
On day one of his administration, President Trump ended the feature and canceled existing appointments.
Now, the Trump administration is asking them to use that same app, now called CBP Home, to self-deport.
"Now suddenly it's like getting the rug pulled from underneath them," says Pedro Rios, the director of the American Friends Service Committee.
Rios says he's not surprised by the move but worries about those who, just a day ago, had legal status and are now in legal limbo.
"The government knows information about where they're living, who their sponsors are, who they're affiliated with any relatives," says Rios.
The local group, Al Otro Lado, tells ABC 10News two of their clients in California received the notice. Telling the AP that some are people are from Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico.
DHS did not specify how many people received notices or what would happen if they didn't leave as requested.
