Biden Administration's 'CBP One' App To Manage Migration Plagued By Low Store Ratings, Tech Issues

Representative Lori Chavez-Dreamer said the Americans "need help" on the southern border

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The Biden administration's CBP One app — a key component of efforts to bring order to the ongoing migrant chaos at the southern border — has fallen in the App Store rankings due to several technical issues and angry criticism. Both right and left.

The app was first released in 2020 under the Trump administration as a "one-stop portal for multiple [Customs and Border] agencies." But its use and scope has expanded under the Biden administration as it tries to deal with a historic immigration crisis under his watch.

In January, the Biden administration announced that the program was available to immigrants seeking asylum at ports of entry along the southern border to make appointments. Under the new application process, immigrants will take photos and submit information through the application, and schedule an appointment 14 days before meeting with a CBP officer at the port of entry.

It's part of the government's effort to address the immigration crisis, which has seen more than 2.3 million border encounters in fiscal year 2022 alone, by expanding access to legal asylum.

The Biden administration has been criticized by Democrats and activists for its "inhumane" border policy that restricts asylum applications

The administration has taken a gingerbread sweep approach, including scheduling features in the CBP One app, as well as rules denying immigrants the right to seek asylum if they don't use the app and cross a port illegally after passing through ' went to a port. . Countries other than those seeking refuge there. The rule will take effect when the Biden administration ends the use of Section 42 exemptions in May, but is currently used for those who claim to qualify for public health exemptions.

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"The CBP ONE application is an innovative solution we use to ensure the safe and orderly arrival of non-citizens who are believed to meet certain vulnerability criteria and request a humanitarian exception to the CDC Title 42 order," said Alejandro Mayorkas , Minister of Homeland Security, said. . In January... "When Section 42 is finally repealed, this new function will join one of the many tools and processes the administration provides to protect people in a safe, orderly, and humane way and to protect the security of our borders to strengthen."

Meanwhile, the application is also used by the government's expanded parole program, which allows 30,000 immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua to enter the US each month. Officials in the Biden administration blamed the dramatic decline in immigrant visits between December and January on the extension of the Section 42 repeal, as well as the introduction of the program.

Although the administration presents the app as legal and orderly, it faces technical problems, including problems with photos and frequent crashes when users upload data. This week the app has a rating of 2.5 (out of 5) on the Apple App Store and 2.7 on the Google Play Store.

Biden Administration Announces Policy to Limit Asylum Claims at Southern Border After Section 42 Expires

© Drew Angerer/Getty Images U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at the 91st Winter Conference of Mayors on January 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. Image by Angerer/Getty Images

"I am applying for humanitarian parole for some family members in Venezuela," said one user. "When you try to send data while shooting, the app throws a 'Session aborted, try again' error." We tried many times, but nothing worked."

"This app has a lot of bugs that need to be fixed," said another reviewer. "It wouldn't be hard to take a picture of your face to prove it."

The problem has drawn the attention of immigration activists, who argue that errors and oversights in applications prevent migrants from applying for asylum. They argue that facial recognition technology has trouble recognizing black immigrants.

The controversy has caught the attention of at least one lawmaker in Congress. Mother Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote to DHS last month urging the administration to remove the program, saying it falsely suggests that an appointment is required to obtain asylum in the US.

“This increased use of the CBP One app raises issues of inequitable access – and unacceptable restrictions – to Safehouses, as well as serious technical and privacy concerns. DHS should immediately delay the filing of CBP One,” Senator Markey said. Letter to Majorca.

The application has also attracted the attention of immigration hawks, who point out that the new asylum rules, which prohibit immigrants from seeking asylum, provide exemptions for immigrants who do not qualify but cannot apply "due to a language barrier". Illiteracy, significant technical deficiency or other serious and permanent disability.'

"The app is designed in a way that doesn't appear to be trying to prevent illegal use of the asylum system," said Rob Lowe, director of the First Policing Institute at the US Center for Immigration and Security. Fox Digital News. "But it was just a blink of an eye, and they will continue to allow record numbers to use and abuse the system and infiltrate American communities."

The administration says Lowe called the supplement a "welcome mat" for immigrants and rejected the idea that it promotes a safe and orderly system, especially given today's challenges.

"It is clear that it has not been properly reviewed, so to publish it and rely on it, while at the same time now proposing a solution that cites the refusal or unavailability of the application as a reason to lift the asylum ban . The fact is that if you can get some people like that, it will help eliminate or at least reduce the number of border guards," he said. "But in the end they are going to stop people who want to come to this country from getting access. No."

Meanwhile, liberals have vowed to sue the Biden administration over its asylum rules, just as 20 Republican states are suing the government over its humanitarian parole program.

Biden introduced a new immigration policy aimed at stemming the flow of immigrants