The United States government expanded the scope of its CBP One app, used to manage asylum requests at the southern border, to all of Mexican territory starting August 23, 2024.
This expansion driven by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will not benefit all migrants equally. The possibility of scheduling appointments under the new guidelines will be limited to certain nationalities, leaving others with geographic restrictions.
In a statement this Friday, the U.S. government indicated that starting August 23, only Mexican citizens will be able to use the CBP One application from anywhere in their country.
Non-Mexican migrants, including Cubans, will be able to make their appointments from Chiapas and Tabasco, territories where it was previously not allowed to start the process. Also from the northern and central areas of the Aztec country, as was usually done.
Journalist Mario J. Pentón commented that this change is especially positive for those Cubans who are in Tapachula, a city in Chiapas. They will now be able to schedule appointments without having to face the risks of traveling to northern Mexico and the border areas.
This expansion of CBP One to the southern states is an opportunity, but also a challenge, as there is a larger number of potential applicants in those Mexican states. The competition for appointments will be more intense, which could extend waiting times.
Additionally, those Cubans who manage to enter the United States through CBP One must prepare for a complex immigration process. They must undergo a thorough analysis by the DHS, which is crucial for later regularizing their status and obtaining permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
The number of available appointments remains limited, with only 1,450 daily cases for all migrants in Mexico, including Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians.
"In July, CBP processed more than 38,000 people with appointments at the ports of entry using advanced information sent through CBP One™," the statement notes.
They also detailed that "since the appointment scheduling feature was introduced in CBP One™ in January 2023 until the end of July 2024, more than 765,000 people have successfully scheduled appointments to present themselves at the ports of entry instead of risking their lives in the hands of traffickers."
The U.S. government specified that the main nationalities processed with these appointments are Venezuelan, Cuban, Mexican, and Haitian.
The CBP One application, since its inception, allowed migrants to request an appointment at the U.S. border with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent only if the geolocator on their phone placed them in central or northern Mexico.
Applicants had to be physically located north of Mexico City in order to access the service.
Chiapas, in particular, is a key area as it shares a border with Guatemala and Belize, serving as the main entry point for migrants crossing Central America on their way to the United States.
The recent expansion of CBP One aims to facilitate the asylum application process and reduce the risks associated with the dangerous journeys from the south to the north of Mexico.
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