Officials from the Trump administration shut down a mobile app designed for migrants to schedule appointments at the U.S.-Mexico border just minutes after the new president took office on Monday, January 20.
By disabling the CBP One app, officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) effectively canceled all pending appointments for migrants without visas who were seeking legal entry into the United States at official ports of entry.
This action is part of a broader effort by the new administration to implement stricter border measures, despite a significant drop in migration over the past six months.
CBP data reveals that U.S. officials encountered 96,048 foreign nationals at the border in December, with 48,722 seeking formal admission at a port of entry.
The last time monthly encounters fell below 100,000 before November was in January 2021, around President Biden’s inauguration. That month, CBP reported 78,414 encounters, with only 3,098 individuals attempting to enter at ports of entry. The majority were intercepted by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the border.
CBP One had been a key part of the Biden administration’s strategy to guide migrants toward legal pathways for seeking refuge in the U.S.
President Trump is expected to sign ten executive orders on Monday addressing border policies, including actions to dismantle initiatives from the previous administration.
These measures aim to reinstate earlier policies, such as the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which approximately 70,000 third-country nationals were returned to Mexico over two years to await decisions on their U.S. asylum applications.
