SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — With just two weeks until President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration day, there are many questions about what changes will be made to the nation's immigration policies.
One of the concerns it the future of the CBP One App, a phone application that allows migrants to request appointments to make their asylum claim.
Two years ago, the CBP One app launched it's 'appointment scheduling feature' so those hoping to claim asylum could schedule appointments to present themselves at the port of entry.
President-elect Trump - and his border czar, Tom Homan, have vowed to end the app, launched during the end of his first term in October of 2020.
Last September, then-candidate Trump tweeted that he would terminate the app, which he claims is used for smuggling people.
"Which essentially will close the door for any reasonable way of someone making an appointment for an asylum claim," says Pedro Rios.
Rios is the director of the American Friends Service Committee. He and other local human rights groups have been critical of the app since it launched the appointment feature. One of the criticisms is that the app can only be translated into three languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
"Whether it's accessible to people that have disabilities or people who don't have the best technology on their phone or don't have access to the internet," says Rios about other concerns about the app's accessibility.
According to CBP numbers, from January 2023 to October of last year, 860,000 people were able to successfully make appointments on the app. Despite the criticism, Rios says if the app goes away, it's unclear what will happen to those with appointments already and how asylum seekers will then make their claims.
"From my analysis is that many more people will tend to cross through much more dangerous ways, through the deserts the mountains," says Rios.
Meanwhile, the government of Mexico is in the process of creating its own app that's expected to roll out this month, where Mexican nationals could send notifications if they think they will be detained in the U.S.
Trump has promised mass deportations on day one in office. His border czar says they would first focus on criminals and national security threats.
