CBP One App Goes Offline, Asylum Appointments Cancelled

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One™ that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled.

The online lottery system gave appointments to 1,450 people a day at eight border crossings to enter on “parole,” which Joe Biden used more than any President.

It was a critical piece of the Biden administration’s border strategy to create new immigration pathways while cracking down on people who enter illegally.

Supporters say it brought order to a chaotic border. Critics say it was magnet for more people to come.

President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday to beef up security at the southern border that began taking effect hours after he was inaugurated.

Some of the orders revive priorities from his first administration that his predecessor had rolled back, including forcing asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico and finishing the border wall. Others created sweeping new strategies, like an effort to end automatic citizenship for anyone born in America, pulling the military into border security and ending use of a Biden-era app used by nearly a million migrants to enter America.

Trump has reversed several immigration orders from Biden’s presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats, or were stopped at the border. It returns the government to Trump’s first-term policy that everyone in the country illegally is a priority.

Trump “border czar” Tom Homan has repeatedly said the new administration wants to target criminals first but that it won’t hesitate to arrest others when deportation officers are on the streets.

Reversing Biden-Era Immigration Orders

One of Trump’s more impactful orders on immigration simply restores what was in place when he took office in 2017.

Trump wants to end federal grants to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, or state and local governments that limit cooperation with immigration authorities. The White House maintains that sanctuaries are breaking a law that forbids interfering with federal law enforcement officers.

He also wants negotiations with state and local governments to deputize local police to enforce immigration laws, known as 287(g) agreements after a section of a 1996 immigration law.

The order restores deportation criteria to pursue everyone in the country illegally, not just those with serious criminal records, those deemed national security or public safety threats, and those who recently crossed the border.

Trumps Stance on Legel Immigration

Trump said he favored legal immigration as he signed orders declaring a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, suspending refugee resettlement and ending automatic citizenship for anyone born in the U.S.

Trump acknowledged an imminent legal challenge to overturning birthright citizenship, which has been enshrined in the U.S. Constitution since 1868. He said automatic citizenship was “just ridiculous” and that he believes he was on “good (legal) ground” to change it.

“That’s a big one,” he bantered with reporters while signing an order declaring the border emergency.

Trump said immigrant labor was needed for investment that he anticipates will accompany higher tariffs.

“I’m fine with legal immigration. I like it. We need people,” he said.

Tariff Plans

Trump says he could place 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1. He declined to give a date on China tariffs.

Trump has talked extensively about his tariff plans and his affection for the levies on imported goods during his multiple public remarks today.

Sources CBP, AP News