March 21, 2024

Reps. Castro, Grijalva, and García Press DHS to Address Major Barriers to Asylum with CBP One App

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), and Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), led 27 of their House colleagues in calling on the Department of Homeland Security to address serious concerns regarding the use of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s mobile application (CBP One) as the primary mechanism for managing asylum interview requests.

Since its implementation, CBP One has faced criticism for widespread usability, accessibility, and equity issues that have prevented people seeking asylum at ports of entry (POE) from scheduling appointments. Last March, Reps. Castro, Grijalva, and García sent a letter to DHS with more than 30 of their colleagues expressing initial concerns with the CBP One app. In this follow-up letter, the lawmakers acknowledge that while DHS has made some progress, urgent issues remain unresolved with the CBP One app.

“CBP’s decision to require asylum seekers to use the still-faulty CBP One app fundamentally undermines the accessibility of the asylum process. Because individuals seeking asylum at our southern border are required to pre-schedule an appointment through the app, the current process obstructs the right to seek asylum by forcing individuals to remain in Mexico while waiting for their asylum cases to be heard,” wrote the lawmakers. “CBP One itself is technologically complex and has significant language limitations, creating inherent barriers for applicants who are not familiar with mobile devices or who speak a language other than the three currently offered in the app.”

Difficulties with CBP One’s appointment lottery system have forced vulnerable individuals to wait in unsafe and impoverished Mexican border regions for prolonged periods. For example, the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona is the only port that accepts CBP One appointments in the 700 miles between Calexico, California, and El Paso, Texas, and it only accepts 100 appointments a day. This scarcity combined with desperation increases the likelihood that asylum seekers will rely on cartel-backed smugglers to enter the United States instead of applying through legal pathways.

“This limitation has resulted in prolonged waiting periods, sometimes extending up to six months, forcing families to wait in Mexico in areas rife with criminal activities, including kidnapping, extortion, robbery, and assaults. Requiring asylum seekers to wait for a rare CBP One appointment, available only in a limited number of ports of entry, inadvertently fuels gang violence as criminal groups exploit these vulnerable individuals for financial gain,” the lawmakers continued.

Increasing and diverse migration has created the need to expand language options and accessibility within the CBP One app. Since its launch, the app has only been offered in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Many asylum seekers who do not speak these languages find themselves at a significant disadvantage and struggle to access critical information and navigate the complex asylum process. Even the individuals who do speak one of the three operating languages find themselves faced with poor translations. 

“These limitations are extremely problematic because the app is the only way for arriving asylum seekers to schedule an appointment and get screened for asylum. Individuals who cannot use CBP One due to language barriers, technical failures, or other obstacles and present at a port of entry must demonstrate to often-skeptical CBP officials that it was not possible to apply through the app,” added the lawmakers. “There are real consequences for individuals who cannot use the app to schedule an appointment.”

Given these challenges, the lawmakers urged CBP and DHS in the letter to address the ongoing issues to ensure the asylum process is accessible, efficient, and fair for everyone, regardless of their language skills, literacy, or ability to access technology. Today’s letter underscored that asylum seekers face undue challenges and safety concerns, compounded by the complexities of navigating the asylum process, through no fault of their own, and emphasized the need for clear troubleshooting channels and uniform information distribution.  

The letter is also signed by U.S. Representatives Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), David Trone (MD-06), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sara Jacobs (CA-53), Delia Ramirez (IL-04), Janice Schakowsky (IL-09), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), James McGovern (MA-02), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Darren Soto (FL-09), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Cori Bush (MO-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Judy Chu (CA-27), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Grace Meng (NY-06), and Linda Sánchez (CA-38).

The letter is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Kino Border Initiative, Respond Crisis Translation, Lawyers for Good Government, National Immigrant Justice Center, Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Espacio Migrante A.C., The International Mayan League, The Quixote Center, Latino Policy Forum, and Justice in Motion.

The full letter is available here.

The Spanish version of the letter is available here.