Trump administration reboots CBP One app, pushing self-deportation agenda

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump took swift action to end the government's use of CBP One, an online application that had been the primary tool for individuals at the southern border to apply for asylum in the United States. On March 10, the administration announced a complete overhaul of the app, rebranding it as a platform for “self-deportation.”

Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, revealed that the app, now called “CBP Home,” would redirect users from the old CBP One version to the new one, Caliber.Az reports, referencing international media.

She explained that the app’s primary function is to offer undocumented immigrants the option to leave voluntarily, allowing them the potential opportunity to return to the US legally in the future.

"The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self-deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream," Noem stated. "If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return."

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) emphasized that the "self-deportation" feature is part of a larger $200 million domestic and international advertising campaign aimed at encouraging undocumented immigrants to “Stay Out and Leave Now.” However, it remains unclear who would actually use the new CBP Home app to "self-deport," a term long associated with making life in the US so difficult for immigrants that they choose to leave voluntarily.

Trump’s presidential campaign had been centred around the promise of “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants. His administration had already taken significant steps to limit legal pathways for immigration, including banning asylum at the US border, ending private sponsorship programs for certain immigrants, and suspending the US refugee resettlement program.

When the administration cancelled the CBP One app, around 30,000 people awaiting scheduled appointments with US immigration officials in Mexico were left stranded and without options. The CBP One app, initially launched during Trump’s first term, had been intended to facilitate various immigration services. Under the Biden administration in 2023, the app’s use was expanded, making it nearly mandatory for asylum seekers to schedule appointments through the app to make their asylum claims. Despite the rising number of arrivals at the border, the app allowed for only 1,450 appointments per day.

Human rights organizations and immigration advocates criticized the app, citing technical glitches, language barriers, and racial biases in its facial recognition system. Many believed that the app, coupled with the requirement for migrants to wait in Mexico, left vulnerable individuals stranded and exposed to organized crime, as reported by Human Rights Watch. In contrast, Trump and his supporters had claimed the app was overly permissive, falsely asserting that it fast-tracked immigrants into the US, leading to their decision to terminate the system.