of exemptions to a public health order known as Title 42 under which the government has denied migrants' U.S. and international rights to claim asylum since March 2020.
While the administration previously signaled that it would introduce CBPOne for people seeking asylum at land border crossings with Mexico, the speed of change caught advocates off-guard. The government’s app is currently available only in English and Spanish and requires access to a smartphone, email and reliable internet.
It's the administration's latest attempt to address extraordinarily high numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of whom are fleeing inequality and violence at home. U.S. authorities stopped migrantsin the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up 37% from 1.73 million times during an unusually busy 2021.
Some advocates welcomed the new system for seeking exemptions, saying it the old one was rife with favoritism and prone to corruption. CBP began working with advocacy groups to select people who are exempt from Title 42 during President Joe Biden’s first year in office.