Donald Trump has already eliminated one of Joe Biden's key immigration policies that allowed nearly a million migrants to cross.
Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app, which provided a range of services including arranging asylum appointments for migrants, is no longer online.
“Effective January 20, 2025, CBP One features that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit information in advance and schedule appointments at eight ports of entry on the southwest border are no longer available, and existing appointments have been canceled,” according to the CBP website.
After Trump was sworn in at noon local time, the app stopped functioning.
The app offered a range of services but was popular because it helped migrants arrange appointments online or in person to explain why they want to come to the US for work.
Every open appointment on the app was effectively canceled when Trump took office, causing panic among those seeking to enter the US
Videos immediately emerged from the US-Mexico border showing people with appointments, some as early as 1pm local time, crying as their hopes for a path to America were dashed.
Margelis Tinoco, a migrant from Colombia waiting just south of the border in Mexico for entry into the U.S., fell to her knees when she heard of Trump's new policy.
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US president on January 20, 2025 at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC. Many of his policies took effect immediately, such as the closure of CBP One.
Margelis Tinoco, a migrant from Colombia, reacts after receiving news that her U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One appointment was canceled, on the day of the inauguration of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump, at the Paso del Norte International border bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 20, 2025
“I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said to loud applause as he addressed the crowd at his swearing-in ceremony.
“Any illegal entry will be stopped immediately, and we will begin the process of sending millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places they came from.”
The app notoriously facilitated migrants from other countries receiving flights to the US.
In total, more than 320,000 migrants were flown to the US by the Biden administration.
The major border city of El Paso, Texas, temporarily closed its border crossings on Monday around Trump's swearing-in ceremony.
Authorities in riot gear with shields and full body armor were photographed standing guard at border crossings.
The improved security comes as other parts of President Trump's agenda are put into action.
The president noted in his remarks how he is reinstating his “Remain in Mexico” policy and ending catch-and-release, a policy that allows illegal border crossers seeking asylum to be detained and then released into the country while they are waiting for a court date. Monday afternoon.
He reinstates the Remain in Mexico policy, which leaves illegal border hoppers waiting in the last country they came from, usually Mexico, while they wait for a court date to make their asylum claims.
Other early goals noted by incoming White House officials on a call Monday include reexamining birthright citizenship and asylum, sending U.S. troops to the border after Trump declared a national emergency and suspending refugee programs.
Migrants who have applied for asylum through the US Customs and Border Protection CBP One application is queued at the Mexican National Institute of Migration (INM) to ensure safe passage to the northern border with the US, in Tapachula, Mexico, 20 January 2025.
Migrants waiting in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for entry into the US
Ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants would mean that anyone born on U.S. soil but whose parents are undocumented aliens would no longer be a de facto citizen of the United States of America.
However, there are proponents who argue these cuts against the government 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which created the unique birthright citizenship rule for anyone born in the US
Reports have surfaced suggesting that President Trump will take as many as 10 border-related day-one actions on Monday.
