CBS: Migrants in Mexico Made 64 Million Requests to Enter U.S. Through DHS-Backed 'CBP One' App

NEWS — Migrants in Mexico have made over 64.3 million requests to enter the U.S. using a smartphone app that the Biden administration has tried to establish as the main gateway to the American asylum system, internal documents obtained by CBS News show.https://t.co/CWpjtDqx4z

— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) February 12, 2024

Migrants in Mexico have made more than 64.3 million requests to enter the U.S. using a smartphone app that the Biden administration has tried to establish as the main gateway to the American asylum system at the southern border, internal federal government documents obtained by CBS News show.

In the first year of the program's implementation, migrants used the phone app, known as CBP One, tens of millions of times to apply for a coveted appointment to be processed by U.S. immigration authorities at an official border crossing, according to the internal documents. So far, nearly 450,000 migrants have been allowed into the U.S. under the process, the documents show.

The documents cover a 13-month period between January 2023, when the Biden administration started allowing migrants to request appointments using CBP One, and Feb. 8, 2024. On average, migrants have made just under 5 million appointment requests per month.

The number of requests does not represent unique individuals, since the total includes repeated attempts by the same people. Nonetheless, the figure illustrates the extraordinarily high demand among migrants to come to the U.S. [...]

Unlike those who enter the country unlawfully, migrants who secure a CBP One appointment can apply for a work permit after being released from U.S. custody and do not have to satisfy the stricter asylum conditions of a Biden administration regulation.

That rule presumes migrants are ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. unlawfully after failing to seek refuge in a third country, like Mexico, on their way to American soil.

As of Feb. 8, U.S. officials at ports of entry along the southern border had allowed 448,701 migrants with CBP One appointments to enter the country, giving them notices to appear in immigration court to plead their cases, according to the internal government documents.

🇺🇸⁉️ Senator Josh Hawley: "You're doing a terrible job as Secretary of Homeland Security."

Alejandro Mayorkas: "I am the child of a Holocaust survivor."

You can't make this up... pic.twitter.com/tGAVb3ghye

— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) February 3, 2024