On his first day in office, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order terminating the CBP One program, which had allowed migrants to schedule legal entry appointments at ports of entry. Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 pending appointments were cancelled within hours. The facts are confirmed by Fox News, NPR, the Associated Press, The Guardian, and Department of Homeland Security statements.
The CBP One app was launched by the Biden administration in 2023 as a legal, orderly pathway for migrants seeking asylum. It processed roughly 1,500 appointments per day. Under the program, migrants could schedule a port-of-entry appointment from their home countries or from Mexico, avoiding the dangerous illegal crossing. The program was used by nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
The Trump executive order directed DHS to 'immediately terminate CBP One' and 'cancel all pending appointments.' Migrants who arrived at ports of entry expecting their scheduled appointments were turned away. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the program had 'exploited legal loopholes' to allow mass migration. The app was repurposed as 'CBP Home,' focused on facilitating voluntary departures of people in the country illegally.
NPR and The Guardian reported on families who had sold belongings and traveled to border regions expecting legal entry, only to be stranded with cancelled appointments and no recourse. Legal groups including the ACLU filed emergency motions challenging the cancellations. Fox News and the Washington Examiner framed the termination as ending what they called 'Biden's open-border app.'
Left-Leaning Emphasis
- NPR and The Guardian highlighted migrants who had sold property and traveled to the border only to be stranded.
- Left outlets emphasized the loss of a legal, orderly pathway that reduced dangerous border crossings.
- ACLU legal challenges covered extensively by NPR, framing termination as violating due process for those with scheduled appointments.
Right-Leaning Emphasis
- Fox News framed CBP One as a 'loophole' that Biden used to bypass congressional immigration limits.
- Washington Examiner praised the shutdown as fulfilling Trump's promise to end what they called 'mass migration by appointment.'
- Right outlets emphasized the unprecedented scale of the program — 1,500 entries/day — as evidence of Biden-era 'open borders.'