About 270,000 migrants waiting to enter U.S. through app Trump has vowed to end, estimates show
Source: CBS News
Updated on: January 19, 2025 / 11:30 AM EST
Washington Approximately 270,000 migrants are estimated to be waiting on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to get an appointment to enter the U.S. through a system that President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end, according to government figures obtained by CBS News.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates that around 270,000 migrants in Mexico are trying to get an appointment distributed by a government app known as CBP One, which the Biden administration has converted into the main gateway to the American asylum system.
Now, those migrants, many of whom are from countries outside of Mexico like crisis-stricken Haiti and Venezuela, are at risk of abruptly losing their ability to enter the U.S. Both Trump and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, his nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, have vowed to shut down CBP One. The app allows migrants in certain parts of Mexico to request a time to be processed by American immigration officials at legal border entry points, also known as ports of entry.
The Biden administration set up the process as part of a broader effort to discourage illegal immigration by offering migrants legal channels to come to the U.S. Those admitted into the U.S. under the system are allowed to apply for work permits, as well as asylum in immigration courts near their respective destinations. As of Jan. 16, nearly 919,000 migrants had been allowed into the U.S. through the CBP One app process, which was established in January 2023, according to an internal government report obtained by CBS News.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/270000-migrants-waiting-to-enter-u-s-through-cbp-one-app-trump-has-vowed-to-end/