How Biden officials aim to use a mobile app to cut illegal U.S. entries

The app, known as CBP One, has been plagued with glitches that disadvantage the most desperate migrants, advocates say.

When U.S. Customs and Border Protection introduced the CBP One mobile application two years ago, it was largely geared toward commercial trucking companies trying to schedule cargo inspections. Border officials hoped to build on the success of programs such as Global Entry and TSA PreCheck that collect information in advance while offering travelers speedier passage, allowing them to avoid some of the onerous security checks implemented after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Now the CBP One app is taking on a central role in the Biden administration’s plan to overhaul asylum screening at the border and slash illegal crossings. The number of migrants intercepted along the U.S. southern border reached record levels during the president’s first two years in office, and with immigration likely to remain a galvanizing issue in the 2024 election, Biden officials are under pressure to address a major political vulnerability.

New technology is key to their strategy. Authorities are already using CBP One to process migrants asking for an exemption to pandemic-era border restrictions, and to coordinate travel for up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who the administration is allowing to legally enter the United States each month through a program known as “parole.”

The app will soon take on an even bigger role, as the Biden administration aims to use CBP One as a gateway to the U.S. asylum system.

The measure will instruct asylum seekers to use CBP One to request an appointment at an official U.S. port of entry, which officials say will facilitate a more orderly process while minimizing disruptions to regular trade and travel.

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