Trump repurposes the CBP One app to allow migrants to self-deport from US
Trump administration officials are encouraging people living in the United States without legal permission to "self deport" via the same app many of them used to cross the border in the first place.
The "CBP Home" app now lets people report that they are planning to leave the United States and return to their home country. The Biden administration launched the app, then known as CBP One, in 2021 as a way to allow migrants to schedule asylum hearings and reduce illegal border crossings.
Trump argues Biden officials abused the process to allow an estimated 1 million people to enter and live in the United States while their asylum request was pending. Trump officials said they are encouraging people who they can identify through their CBP One status to voluntarily leave the United States instead of being detained and forcibly deported.
"The app provides illegal aliens in the United States with a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart, offering them the chance to leave before facing harsher consequences," Pete Flores, the acting commissioner for U.S Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. "This reinforces our commitment to enforcing U.S. laws and safeguarding national security."
The app is linked to a user's name, uses facial recognition, and can track a user's specific location through their phone's GPS. People reporting that they are self-deporting are asked to take a photo of themselves, provide personally identifying information, disclose whether they have a passport from another country, and say whether they "have enough money to depart the United States."
It was immediately unclear when people are supposed to report their self-deportation plans, given that federal immigration officials could use information collected by the app to target people who say plan to leave but haven't yet departed. Critics of the original app said it was being misused by migrants who would request asylum and then ignore subsequent court hearings or rulings.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told FOX News that people who self-deport may one day have the option to return legally to the United States. But she said people who remain in the country without permission and who are then deported "will never return."