In the U.S., Entry from Mexico Using the CBP One App is No Longer Possible

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States, after which the use of the CBP One app was immediately discontinued. The app had allowed nearly a million people to enter the U.S. legally and work, but all existing appointments have now been canceled, according to ABC7news. This is one of the first steps by the new administration to overhaul immigration policies.

"I will declare a state of emergency at our southern border," Trump stated during his inauguration. "All illegal crossings will be stopped immediately, and we will begin the process of returning millions of illegal immigrants to where they came from."

On Monday, shortly after Trump was sworn in, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) informed users that the app, which facilitated scheduling appointments at eight border crossings along the southwestern border, is no longer available. All existing appointments have been canceled.

Immigrant communities across the country are bracing for the crackdowns promised by the Republican president throughout his campaign and reiterated since. Should rhetoric turn into action, approximately 11 million people currently residing in the U.S. illegally could face deportation. Priority will be given to deporting foreigners with criminal records, as NBC reported earlier.

Trump and his aides have repeatedly stated their intent to reverse President Joe Biden's deportation priorities, which focused on individuals with criminal backgrounds or those posing national security threats. The new administration plans to implement stricter measures targeting all individuals without legal status.

American officials also announced plans to suspend the refugee resettlement program for four months. For decades, this program allowed hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution to enter the U.S. During Trump’s first term, the program was also temporarily halted and later resumed with significantly reduced quotas.

The Trump administration also aims to designate criminal cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, specifically targeting groups like the Venezuelan gang “Tren de Aragua” and seeking to expel its members from the U.S. Another step includes ending the practice of releasing migrants into the U.S. while they await court hearings.

Experts highlight the significant costs associated with these reforms and recall the "Remain in Mexico" policy from Trump’s first term, which forced around 70,000 asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for U.S. immigration court hearings. Mexican authorities have expressed willingness to accommodate asylum seekers waiting outside the U.S., emphasizing the need for an online system allowing individuals to book appointments at border crossings.

Additionally, plans to complete the border wall are underway, although the extent of the construction remains unclear. Currently, the wall stretches approximately 450 miles (720 kilometers), while the U.S.-Mexico border spans 3,200 kilometers. Many unfortified areas are located in Texas, including inhospitable terrain rarely crossed by migrants. Troops are set to return to the border, as they were during 2018 and 2023 under the Trump and Biden administrations, respectively. Both administrations also deployed National Guard troops along the border.

According to US News, CBP One functioned as a lottery system, scheduling 1,450 daily appointments at eight border crossings. Migrants entered the U.S. under immigration "parole." The app’s shutdown aligns with Trump’s campaign promises. Many migrant shelters in Mexico are now overcrowded, with CBP reporting approximately 280,000 daily attempts to secure appointments. Former Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol, Matthew Hudak, who retired last year, suggests that the app’s cancellation could push people toward illegal border crossings.

CNN reports that on his first day, Trump revoked 78 executive orders issued under Biden and signed a document aimed at revising the concept of "birthright citizenship." Trump opposes automatically granting U.S. citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. However, fundamental changes would require rewriting the Constitution, a challenging endeavor. For now, federal agencies have been instructed to deny certain documents if parents are in the U.S. illegally or if the mother has only a temporary visa and the father is not a U.S. citizen.

Trump also announced the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement. He demanded federal employees return to in-office work and ordered an investigation into the Biden administration for "censorship of free speech" or "weaponization" of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.