Wednesday, April 9, 2025 - Thousands of migrants who entered the US during the Joe Biden administration and used a special app to arrange asylum appointments have reportedly been told to leave "immediately".
The roughly 900,000 migrants who entered at the southern
border using the app, CBP One, were generally allowed to remain in the US for
two years and given "parole" from immigration laws to work in the
country legally.
Now, many of them are being informed that their paroles are
revoked and that they are subject to prosecution if they remain in the US
President Donald Trump's administration recently renamed the
app to CBP Home and is using it for "self-deportations".
In an email seen by the BBC, a migrant was told "it is
time for you to leave the United States".
"If you do not depart the United States immediately you
will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that result in your
removal from the United States - unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful
basis to remain here," the email adds.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said
that "the Biden Administration abused the parole authority to allow
millions of illegal aliens into the US which further fuelled the worst border
crisis in US history".
"Cancelling these paroles is a promise kept to the
American people to secure our borders and protect national security," the
statement added.
It is unclear how many people received the notices, although
immigration officials have confirmed that they have been sent to
"some" of those paroled into the US.
DHS said the cancellations and push to leave immediately do
not apply to migrants in two parole programmes designated for some Ukrainians
and Afghans.
Immigration advocates have said that Mexican, Honduran, and
Salvadoran migrants are among those who received the notices.
The notice also advises migrants that any benefits received
as part of their parole into the US - including work authorisation - are
cancelled.
"You will be subject to potential criminal prosecution,
civil fines, and penalties, and any other lawful options available to the
federal government," it says.
Originally launched in 2020, CBP One was expanded during the
Biden administration to allow prospective migrants to book appointments to
appear at a port of entry.
At the time, officials credited the application with helping
reduce detentions at the border and portrayed the technology as part of a
larger effort to protect asylum seekers making an often-dangerous journey to
the US.
In March, the app was rebranded as CBP Home. It now
allows undocumented migrants to identify themselves and declare their intention
to leave the country.
The app also asks migrants whether they have "enough money to depart
the United States" and whether they have a "valid, unexpired passport
from your original country of citizenship".
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