The mandatory use of CBP One to seek asylum in the US infringes upon the United States’ and Mexico’s international human rights and refugee law obligations, states a report recently published by Amnesty International.
The mobile application, designed to process individuals seeking asylum, is reportedly not a valid exclusive method of entry into the US to seek international protection. Amnesty International argues that the app sets significant hurdles for many asylum seekers, the enforcement of which by the US and Mexico breaches these countries’ duties to ensure the rights of these individuals.
Introduced by US Customs and Border Protection in 2020, CBP One saw further use after the introduction of the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Final Rule by the Biden administration. This rule established a “rebuttable presumption of ineligibility for asylum” on individuals entering the US from Mexico at the southern and adjacent coastal borders “without authorization”. The final rule necessitated individuals seeking asylum to use CBP One to apply for and schedule asylum protection appointments, barring a few exceptions.
Amnesty International identifies several distinct challenges to asylum seekers in the app, thanks to an “onerous registration process”, technological errors, and general unawareness about the application. Privacy and non-discrimination concerns are exacerbated by app features like facial recognition, GPS tracking, and data collection methods.
CBP One’s mandatory usage requirement, combined with the necessity of a central or northern Mexico location for an individual to apply for an appointment, means asylum seekers wait in Mexico indefinitely while seeking protection. Many encounter serious threats and inadequate conditions while waiting.
The UN Human Rights Committee and Human Rights First have also critiqued this policy. The US government is thus under increasing pressure to reassess the final rule and abandon CBP One’s mandatory usage, while the Mexican government must take action to safeguard asylum seekers making their way through Mexico.