The Trump administration has repurposed an app that facilitated immigration into the U.S. and made it into a “self-deportation tool.”
Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump quickly moved to shut down the Biden-era CBP One app. The mobile application allowed migrants to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry in the U.S.
The Trump administration said it allowed “undocumented aliens” to flow into the country, before their appointments were even carried out.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday announced the MAGA-fied version of CBP One, called CBP Home. Fox News reported that all CBP One apps will automatically update to the new version.
The application has a shiny new feature dubbed “Intent to Depart,” which offers “unlawfully present aliens or those aliens whose parole has been revoked an orderly and defined voluntary process to notify the U.S. Government of their intent to depart the United States,” according to the agency.
This language was simplified by Trump’s glam Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in an X post. She said “aliens” would be given the option to “self-deport.”
“The Biden Administration exploited the CBP One App to allow more than 1 million aliens to illegally enter the United States,” she wrote Monday.
“With the launching of the CBP Home App, we are restoring integrity to our immigration system. The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream.”
She finished her post with a threat. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return,” Noem wrote.
Pete Flores, acting commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, struck a more official tone, but still opted to use the dehumanizing term “alien” to describe migrants.
“CBP Home App strengthens our mission to secure the U.S. border by ensuring lawful entry for travelers and supporting effective enforcement,” he said.
“The app provides illegal aliens in the United States with a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart, offering them the chance to leave before facing harsher consequences. This reinforces our commitment to enforcing U.S. laws and safeguarding national security.”
As well as its “intent to depart” function, the app allows users to check border wait times, apply for a provisional I-94 entry, request an inspection of agriculture or biological products, submit a travelers manifest for bus operators.
Trump has repeatedly voiced his desire to launch one of the biggest deportation efforts in the country’s history, and has green-lit a handful of new initiatives to see it through.
