'It's a failure for us': Migrants at the Southern US border are reportedly frustrated with the mobile app that's supposed to speed up asylum appointments

Migrants from Mexico, Venezuela and Central American countries stage a protest outside the United States Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday, January 9, 2023.

(Photo by Carlos A. Moreno/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

• Migrants have expressed serious concerns about the issues on the US border control mobile app, according to the AP.
• They were reportedly instructed to make an appointment on the app to request asylum.
• However, the tech challenges have left some without hope, the AP reported. 

Migrants hoping to gain entry into the US at the Southern border are reportedly growing frustrated with the host of technical issues plaguing a new border control mobile app that is supposed to expedite asylum appointments. 

Many migrants at the Southern border have been grappling with numerous error messages or being prevented from logging in altogether while trying to set up an appointment on the CBPOne mobile app, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

"It freezes and it stays frozen. When we try to go in and enter our information, it takes us to this screen and then it crashes," Wilson Peralta, who was assisting another migrant with their account, told Spectrum News. "I've done everything the system has asked. When we have sent everything, then we go here to get a date and time. But we get nothing,"

The app acts as a portal for US Customs and Border Protection services. The AP reported that the appointment system is supposed to help work around Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allows US officials to oust asylum seekers from the US at the border under the guise of public health concerns.

The app, the AP reported, was rolled out by the Biden administration earlier this month. 

Another problem people are facing is dealing with the language barrier due to the app only having applications in English and Spanish, which makes it difficult for Haitian migrants who may only speak French, according to the report.

In addition, migrants with darker complexions have raised concerns about the app not registering their faces when taking required photos for the process through the app as well as delayed wait times for their applications. 

Director Gustavo Banda of Embajadores de Jesus, a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, told the AP that since the process was introduced, only two people out of roughly a thousand were able to grab an appointment. 

"We're going to continue trying, but it's a failure for us," Erlin Rodriguez, who has tried to book appointments for his family, told the AP. "There's no hope."

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