Migrants seeking to request asylum in the United States through the CBP One app can expect a 10-week waiting period to get an appointment, according to an official at the Department of Homeland Security.
In a YouTube message, Luis Miranda, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications at the DHS, added that ,450 appointments are processed every day through the app, and that most of them are assigned randomly.
A small proportion, he added, are allocated (also randomly) among those who have been making requests for longer without success. Miranda also emphasized on the need to request appointments every day until being selected.
In its first year of use, CBP One has granted over 450,000 appointments, less than 1% of the total amount of requests. Overall, migrants in Mexico have made over 64 million requests. Although considering that Miranda said they need to make one every day, the amount of people in the app is substantially lower.
Using the app and not crossing the border allow those approved by CBP One to apply for a work permit after being released from custody. Those apprehended after crossing illegally become ineligible for asylum if they enter the country after failing to seek refuge in another country beforehand.
In another passage of his address, Miranda said the U.S. government is concerned about the misinformation circulating on social media about the app, and recalled that using the app is free.
"There is a lot of bad information around social media, especially in WhatsApp groups where some say the app isn't working or it will stop being used. These are lies," Miranda added.
The app recently made the news because migrants with disabilities complained they were not able to do so. Concretely, the app is still inaccessible to migrants who are blind, deaf, have mobility issues or intellectual disabilities, among others, according to the Texas Civil Rights Project and Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center.
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