CBP One App and Asylum

When individuals flee their home country due to persecution, they have a right to seek asylum in another country, including the United States. This right is recognized in international law and U.S. federal law.

In international law, the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol established the principle of non-refoulement: the prohibition on returning refugees to places where they face persecution. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) says that everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution. These are only a few.

U.S. federal law also provides for the right to asylum. 8 U.S.C. section 1158 says that any noncitizen present in the U.S. or at a port of entry may apply for asylum, regardless of immigration status.

However, on May 11, 2023, former President Biden's "Circumvention of Lawful Pathways" rule went into effect. In short, this rule reduced the ability for people to seek asylum. If an individual came to a port of entry or went across the border as "entry without inspection" (such as surrendering to Border Patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border), that individual was ineligible for asylum. The rule created only one pathway to asylum -- the CBP One App. The CBP One App could be found on a person's iPhone within a certain range of the U.S.-Mexico border. Individuals could go to the App and sign up for an appointment. Then, those individuals could wait in Mexico until their appointment and go to the U.S. port of entry, asking for asylum. The ability to obtain asylum relief reduced dramatically after this rule went into effect.

On inauguration day when President Trump took office, one of his first Executive Orders got rid of the CPB One App. Individuals who had appointments to appear at the border and ask for asylum disappeared overnight. The avenue for applying for asylum is now entirely gone.

Individuals who come to the border seeking refuge cannot seek asylum, its protections, or its pathway to citizenship.

Asylum is defined as a person who has fled their home country due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Once granted asylum, individuals can: live and work in the U.S., apply for lawful permanent residence (aka a green card) after one year, and eventually apply for citizenship. They can also petition for their family members to unite with them in the United States and receive status.

This does not mean all forms of protection have disappeared. Withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture are still options, regardless of how a person enters the United States (through a port of entry or entering without inspection). However, these two forms of relief require a higher burden of proof and only allow an individual to be present in the United States and have work authorization. It does not allow the person a pathway to citizenship or the ability to petition family members to join them.

Whether this will change remains an open question. The CLP rule is currently still on appeal because it goes against the U.S. federal law cited above as well as international laws.