Message to Migrants: 'Existing Appointments Are No Longer Valid'

Thousands of migrants waiting at the US border got an immediate and tangible sign that Donald Trump had been sworn into office on Monday—an official app they had used to schedule appointments with border officials went dark, informing them, "Existing appointments are no longer valid," reports the Washington Post. The details:

• The app: It's called CBP One, and it was launched by Customs and Border Protection officials in 2023, reports the New York Times. An estimated 1,500 migrants used it daily to schedule an appointment to arrive at an official port of entry and make their case for asylum. More than 900,000 used it over the last two years, and about 30,000 had existing appointments when it was shuttered.

• The context: The app's closure is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to tighten immigration. On Monday, the new president said he is declaring a national emergency on the southern border. (He also aims to end birthright citizenship.)
• The app debate: The Biden administration said the app was a big part of its strategy to have migrants enter the country through legal channels rather than trying to sneak in, per the Hill. They saw it as a big factor in the recent drop in border numbers. But critics viewed it as a way to let migrants enter the country and remain here for years as their cases were considered. "The fact that this application exists is the most underreported scandal of the Biden admin," tweeted JD Vance, now the vice president, last week. "They made an application to facilitate illegal immigration. It boggles the mind."
• The scene: The Washington Post recounts the scene at a border bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, as migrants with appointments began logging onto the app to see the message. "One woman sat down and began to weep beneath a fleece blanket. Another leaned against a pole, buried her face in her gloved hands and cried." One man who had fled Cuba, Ridel Jimenez, says he had an appointment Monday morning before it was canceled. "If only I had had the appointment for three hours earlier."

(More immigration stories.)