As President Donald Trump took office for the second time on Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the discontinuation of the CBP One app. The app, which allowed undocumented individuals “to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry,” is no longer available, and all existing appointments have been canceled.

According to The Associated Press, the shutdown is a devastating loss for those seeking legal entry into the United States. The CBP One app functioned as a lottery system, offering appointments to 1,450 people daily at one of eight border crossings. Migrants used it to enter the U.S. on immigration “parole,” a presidential authority employed by former President Joe Biden more than any other president since its establishment in 1952, per the AP.

CBP One App Shutdown’s Impact on Migrants

Since January 2023, the CBP One app has facilitated the entry of nearly 1 million individuals. However, those still awaiting their chance are already feeling the impact. Applicants have been informed that tens of thousands of February appointments have been canceled.

The app proved particularly beneficial to Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians, and Mexicans, many of whom traveled to the U.S. border to use it. Now, they are stranded in Mexico — both at the border and throughout the country.

Mexicans and migrants demonstrate with a pinata outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20, 2025, against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States
Mexicans and migrants demonstrate with a pinata outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20, 2025, against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States. | Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A woman protests outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20, 2025, against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States
A woman protests outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20, 2025, against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States. | Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mexicans and migrants protest while setting fire to a pinata outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20, 2025, against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States
Mexicans and migrants protest while setting fire to a pinata outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20, 2025, against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States. | Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Asylum seekers check their phones as they wait for a CBP One appointment at the El Chaparral border port in Tijuana, Mexico, on January 20, 2025. US President Donald Trump, during his inauguration, says that he will issue a raft of executive orders aimed at reshaping citizenship and immigration, starting with the asylum process, among others. The Trump administration shuts down the CBP One app for migrants. The Biden-era process allows nearly 1 million migrants to enter the US at legal border crossings since the app initiates.
Asylum seekers check their phones as they wait for a CBP One appointment at the El Chaparral border port in Tijuana, Mexico, on January 20, 2025. US President Donald Trump, during his inauguration, says that he will issue a raft of executive orders aimed at reshaping citizenship and immigration, starting with the asylum process, among others. The Trump administration shuts down the CBP One app for migrants. The Biden-era process allows nearly 1 million migrants to enter the US at legal border crossings since the app initiates. | Photo by Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Asylum seekers wait for their CBP One appointments before crossing through El Chaparral border port in Tijuana, Mexico, on January 20, 2025. The Trump administration shuts down the CBP One app for migrants. The Biden-era process allows nearly 1 million migrants to enter the US at legal border crossings since the app initiates. It is estimated that 270,000 migrants wait in Mexico, hoping to use the app to enter the US.
Asylum seekers wait for their CBP One appointments before crossing through El Chaparral border port in Tijuana, Mexico, on January 20, 2025. The Trump administration shuts down the CBP One app for migrants. The Biden-era process allows nearly 1 million migrants to enter the US at legal border crossings since the app initiates. It is estimated that 270,000 migrants wait in Mexico, hoping to use the app to enter the US. | Photo by Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Voices from Migrants Affected by the CBP One App Shutdown

“We don’t know what we are going to do,” Maria Mercado, who was preparing to enter the U.S. from Tijuana, told The Associated Press. Tijuana is one of the cities where hundreds of people were admitted daily through the CBP One app.

Jairol Polo, 38, said he had been trying to secure an appointment for six months from Mexico City. He finally obtained one for Wednesday in Matamoros, Mexico, near Brownsville, Texas. After flying to Matamoros, he learned at the border that his appointment was canceled.

“Imagine how we feel,” he said.

CBP One App Shutdown: Last-Minute Crossings Provide Relief

Migrants with morning appointments on the CBP One app were luckier than those scheduled later in the day. A 28-year-old Venezuelan man, Andrum Roman, was among the last group to cross the border from Ciudad Juarez before the shutdown.

“We are a little safer now because we are here,” he told The Associated Press. “But you still don’t know what’s going to happen.”

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