Trump shuts down the CBP One app, signaling the start of his immigration crackdown

The Trump administration on Monday abruptly shut down a government program created by the Biden administration to allow migrants to use an app to secure a deal to enter the United States through legal ports of entry, signaling the start of President Trump’s promised crackdown on the southern border.

Moments after Mr. Trump took the oath of office, a notice posted on the CBP One program website stated that the app would no longer work and that “existing appointments have been cancelled.”

The program, which debuted in early 2023, allowed 1,450 migrants a day to schedule a time to present themselves at a port of entry and seek asylum through U.S. immigration courts. More than 900,000 migrants entered the country using the app from its launch in early 2023 to the end of 2024.

A former Department of Homeland Security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 30,000 migrants had appointments to enter the United States through the app as of Monday morning.

At the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, dozens of migrants staring at their phone screens, trying to check if their agreements were still valid, found instead the crushing message that they no longer existed.

“I’m in shock,” said Maura Hernandez, who received the news Monday morning when she arrived in Tijuana with her four young children from Michoacán state. She had an appointment on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to us,” she said, adding that they had fled their homes amid fierce uncertainty.

The program was a central part of the Biden administration’s efforts to control migration through the southern border. On the one hand, the administration blocked asylum for migrants crossing illegally. At the same time, US officials believed that by offering migrants an organized way to enter legally through an app, they could discourage attempts to gain entry without permission. The number of borders has dropped dramatically in recent months, and officials believe the program is a major reason.

“I would say that the model we’ve built to limit asylum at our southern border and build accessible, legal, safe and orderly pathways for individuals to seek relief under our laws is the model that should be sustained,” said Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a interview with NPR this month. “And we’ve provided the border and the avenues available to the incoming administration.”

The end of the program will test that theory as the Trump administration moves toward a more restrictive policy at the border. The former Homeland Security official said they estimated a total of nearly 300,000 migrants were in Mexico waiting to use the app.

“We are so disappointed,” said Gustavo Selva of Venezuela after reading the update on his phone that the program had been shut down. He had received hopeful news of his scheduled appointment 21 days ago.

However, two days ago he received an email informing him that it had been delayed to February 9. By then, he had already traveled to Tijuana from the southern state of Chiapas after waiting there for seven months for his deal to go through.

“We thought we could get into today without any problems,” added Mr. Self. “Now we will be stranded here indefinitely.”

Critics of the program, particularly Republican lawmakers, saw it as a way to allow those who otherwise had no way to enter the United States to enter the country and remain for years while their immigration cases languished in the courts.

“The fact that this application exists is the most underreported scandal of the Biden administration. They filed an application to facilitate illegal immigration. It boggles the mind,” Vice President JD Vance said in a social media post last week.

Matthew Hudak, a former senior Border Patrol official, said the decision was a clear sign that things were changing at the southern border.

“All of just wanting to immigrate to the United States and signing up to get in line will be replaced by stricter policies that will significantly raise the bar for those seeking to come here, including re-implementation of the Remain in Mexico program,” he said. “Many will be left to decide whether to work through the legal process or try to enter the country illegally and face what are likely to be much more significant consequences.”

Aline Corpus contributed reporting from Tijuana, Mexico.