Web Desk
HOUSTON — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a new app called CBP Home, encouraging illegal migrants to self-deport using its “intent to depart” feature.
This app is a modified version of CBP One, which, under the Biden administration, allowed migrants to apply for legal entry into the U.S. as asylum seekers.
The self-deportation feature is part of a $200 million ad campaign by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), urging undocumented immigrants to “Stay Out and Leave.”
“The CBP Home app offers aliens the choice to leave voluntarily and self-deport, giving them a chance to return legally in the future and pursue the American dream,” said Secretary Kristi Noem.
“If they don’t, we will find them, deport them, and they will never return.”
However, immigration advocates have raised concerns about how the app will work in practice.
Cesar Espinoza, executive director of FIEL — a Houston-based immigrant-led civil rights group — questioned the legal consequences of voluntary departure.
“There are laws stating that if you have ‘unlawful’ status and leave the country, even voluntarily, you’re still barred from re-entering,” Espinoza said.
He referred to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). According to this law:
Illegal immigrants who overstay for more than 180 days but less than a year must remain outside the U.S. for at least three years.
Those who overstay for more than a year face a 10-year ban.
DHS maintains that self-deportation is the safest option for illegal migrants, helping to conserve law enforcement resources.
Espinoza described a wave of fear spreading through the undocumented community in Harris County.
“Many people are calling us in tears,” he said. “There’s panic because of what they’re hearing on social media.”
According to the Migration Policy Institute, Harris County is home to an estimated half a million undocumented immigrants.
In response to growing concerns over illegal immigration, Houston-area state lawmakers have introduced new bills this legislative session, including Senate Bill 8 and Senate Bill 825.
Meanwhile, nearly one million people had applied for asylum interviews through the original CBP One app. However, those appointments have now been canceled.
The debate over the CBP Home app continues, with immigration advocates and lawmakers at odds over its potential impact on undocumented communities.
