Washington DC:
The American Dream has come crashing down for millions and millions of people who line up to get a chance to settle in the United States. Donald Trump has, with one signature, shut the door for them permanently – a door which Joe Biden’s administration is accused of exploiting in order to allow illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to get legal entry to the United States.
CBP One, a mobile app launched by the US Customs and Border Protection, through which over a million illegal immigrants and asylum seekers got legal status, was shut down by Donald Trump within hours of him taking oath as President for a second term.
When the CBP One app was launched in October 2020, its use was only to help commercial trucking companies schedule cargo inspections at border crossings. But in January 2023, the Biden administration expanded its utility to include unauthorised and illegal migrants seeking asylum or protection in the US from violence, poverty, or persecution in their home countries.
Within three months, it was further expanded by the Biden administration in order to make it the only path to seek asylum on the US-Mexico border. It became the sole method for asylum appointments. This soon gained widespread popularity, with as many as one million people successful in getting appointments using the app – which roughly translates to around 1,450 appointments per day.
Under the scheme, illegal and unauthorised immigrants could apply for an appointment in advance on the CBP One App. Every day the App would select applications on what is widely described as a “lottery system” and 1,450 applicants would get an appointment. Once approved, the illegal immigrant would get legal entry into the United States from one of the eight border crossings in the South. They would be given a legal status to live and work in America. Such applicants would be eligible to seek “parole” into the United States – a presidential privilege that Joe Biden has used more than any other US President since its creation in 1952.
The pace and scale of this soon came under heavy criticism from Donald Trump and his allies, who cried foul and targeted the Biden administration for giving legal status to illegal immigrants by the help of this mobile app.
This went on for one-and-a-half years till the US election in 2024 saw Donald Trump win a historic second term to the White House. He had vehemently opposed illegal immigration and had made electoral promises to bring sweeping changes to the US’ immigration policy. He had even threatened to “deport millions and millions of illegal aliens”.
On January 20, when he took oath of office as President, his first move was to sign a record number of executive orders – one of which was on massive curbs and changes to the immigration system. In this, he put an immediate ban on the CBP One app. With the stroke of his pen, the app got suspended and all existing and future appointments went into a deep freeze indefinitely, bringing an end to the only channel asylum seekers could explore.
A notice on the US Customs and Border Protection website and App read: “Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One App 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.”
Donald Trump didn’t stop there. His day-one executive order on immigration curbs included declaring a “national emergency along the southern border” with Mexico. He even declared that troops will be deployed within days to put all illegal entry into the United States to a grinding halt. In addition to this, Donald Trump also declared that his administration will begin imposing a massive 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing vast numbers of people to cross the border illegally.
“We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people” across the border, Trump said in response to questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night. “I think we’ll do it starting February 1.”
By taking these measures, Donald Trump has delivered on his election promise – that he would act on illegal immigration on Day 1 of his presidency. It is yet to be seen if he will be able to “deport millions” as he had assured US citizens. Donald Trump’s executive orders are certain to be challenged in court. NGO organisations like Amnesty International are likely to challenge them.
