Los Angeles, Apr 12 (EFE).- A computer version of the CBP One mobile application will be available at the end of April for asylum seekers who wish to register to be interviewed at United States ports of entry, reported Wednesday the specialized media Border Report.
In June 2021, President Joe Biden’s Administration updated the use of the CBP One mobile app to allow asylum seekers to initiate their claims from their cell phone, but criticism of the process has since mounted.
Last March, 35 Democratic legislators demanded from the Biden government a solution to the problems presented by the digital tool.
In a letter dated March 14, the lawmakers requested immediate steps “to address the fairness, accessibility, and usability issues with the CBP One mobile app that have prevented asylum seekers from receiving appointment dates, and have made it impossible families get appointments as a group.”
A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Border Report on Wednesday that beginning in late April, asylum seekers will be able to access the application via a computer.
However, applicants still need to log into the CBP One app using a cell phone in cities in central and northern Mexico to schedule appointment dates and US port locations, the spokesperson told the specialized medium.
Using the computer version will only allow immigrants to fill out the necessary registration information and is not intended for appointment scheduling, he added.
The CBP One app requires users to submit photos as part of information entry, and the technology it employs for face matching “is much more prone to misidentifying people of color, children, and transgender migrants,” the officials warned. legislators.
Some migrants, particularly those with darker skin, have stated that CBP One rejects required photos, which delays or results in the denial of their applications.
An update to the Android-powered cell phone app was also released Tuesday, the CBP spokesperson added.
Other adjustments were also made, such as allowing family members to schedule appointments together, one of the requests made by Democratic lawmakers.
