Border Patrol mobile app for migrants seeking entry faces scrutiny for its lack of vetting, security

A government mobile app for migrants seeking asylum at the southern border is facing scrutiny for its lack of vetting migrants.

An internal watchdog within the Department of Homeland Security sent a report to Congress titled, "CBP Did Not Thoroughly Plan for CBP One Risks, and Opportunities to Implement Improvements Exist."

The report warns of the dangers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, which was created in 2020 to schedule appointments at points of entry into the U.S. According to the CBP, the app has "increased CBP’s capacity to process migrants more efficiently and orderly while cutting out unscrupulous smugglers who endanger and profit from vulnerable migrants." 

However, the recent report highlights the need for improvement to mitigate the technological risks of the app used by thousands of migrants seeking asylum.

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Migrants seeking entry into the U.S. use the CBP One mobile app in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the report, the CBP One app regularly crashes, and noncitizens receive frequent error messages, face a language barrier and do not have an "equal opportunity to secure an appointment."

Along with technological issues, the report noted issues with vetting migrants prior to their arrival at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Although CBP uses biographic and biometric information submitted to CBP One to determine whether arriving noncitizens have derogatory records, it does not leverage the information to identify suspicious trends as part of its pre-arrival vetting procedures," the report said.

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The report notes the app cannot analyze data of an immigrant claiming a U.S. residence for an intended address.

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"Based on our analysis of CBP One data, we identified potentially unrelated noncitizens who repeatedly claimed identical U.S. residences as their intended address," it said. "CBP currently does not have a mechanism to routinely analyze CBP One data submitted across the eligible POEs [points of entry] for trends, which may be useful intelligence to help guide front-line CBP officers when interviewing noncitizens during appointment processing."

Haitian migrants who have an appointment via the CBP One app show their documents to U.S. Border Patrol agents on the Paso del Norte Bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. (Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The CBP One app has become controversial on both sides of the immigration debate. 

Amnesty International said in a report published this week that the mandatory use of the app for asylum seekers is a "clear violation of international human rights and refugee law."

The human rights organization says the app creates "layers of complexity and obstacles to an already challenging process." 

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said in a statement: "The use of the CBP One application conditions entry and access to asylum on appearing at a port of entry with a prior appointment, which is not feasible for some people. While technological innovations could potentially provide for safe transit and more orderly border processes, [programs] like CBP One cannot condition and limit the manner to seek international protection in the United States."

Signs advertise the CBP One mobile application at the port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mexicali, Baja California. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The app was conceived near the end of the Trump administration as a way to expedite border crossings for people with the legal right to enter the country. 

But the app is equally unpopular with conservatives, who say it encourages migrants to seek asylum. 

The House Committee on Homeland Security has previously highlighted the "shocking abuse" of the app, saying that 95.8% of all "inadmissible aliens who scheduled appointments through the app" between January and September last year were ultimately given a "notice to appear" and were allowed into the country. 

The CBP and the White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

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