Through an official announcement, the Department of Homeland Security of the United States (DHS) reported the expansion of the areas inside Mexico where an appointment can be requested for the CBP One application, which allows people to go to the northern border of the country. to request political asylum.
Since the start of the measure in early 2023, the request for positions was limited to the central and northern regions of Mexico, with the global geolocation system (GPS) tracking the location of the user. However, the authorities added two states in southern Mexico to the list, namely Chiapas and Tabasco.
The DHS, which oversees general management of immigration policy, apparently ordered this expansion to relieve pressure on central and northern Mexico. This measure will also prevent migrants from crossing the country to get one of the 1,450 jobs available every day, at the risk of being detained by the Aztec country’s immigration authorities.
The measure will come into effect soon, although no exact date has been given for this to happen yet.
🔴 #The Morning | “That’s where you made the decision that the people in charge of immigration will come (…) from now on CBP One meetings will be available in Chiapas and Tabasco,” said Alicia Bárcena, head of the Secretary of State… pic.twitter.com/pmfiAic8ZK
— @diario24horas (@diario24horas) August 2, 2024
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) noted that this expansion is part of an effort to change policies and practices in response to migration trends.
And in the past, many migrants got into trouble by using digital tools to hide their location and request meetings while they were south of Mexico. As a result, the issuance of travel permits was temporarily suspended in Chiapas, leaving thousands of migrants stranded in the border state.
It is important to remember that in June, the Joe Biden administration ordered a temporary suspension of asylum processing for those who entered the United States without permission. This made CBP One positions the only option for those seeking asylum in the US, increasing demand for them.
Changes to the CBP One app
Since its implementation in January 2023, more than 680,000 people have booked appointments through the CBP One application. Many of the beneficiaries are from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti.
The use of this application has remained unchanged, although a new requirement was established at the beginning of July when booking an appointment, which is related to with a live selfie at the time of the request.
The measure was set up to prevent fraud in the application, and ensures that everyone over the age of 14 must take a live photo and go through a geolocation check before they can make an appointment at the end.
