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Dear John,
The U.S. government is forcing asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border to use CBP One—a glitchy and unreliable app created by U.S. Customs and Border Protection—to make an appointment to ask for protection.
But many can’t get an appointment. They need an up-to-date smartphone and internet access. They must be able to navigate the app, even if it’s in a language they don’t understand. And they need plain luck, as only 1,450 appointments are available per day through a lottery system.
If a person doesn’t have an appointment, the U.S. government turns them back and denies them access to the asylum process.
This technological barrier to asylum is unlawful and unconstitutional. It violates the government’s own promises to keep ports of entry open.
The American Immigration Council, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Mayer Brown LLP, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and our partners filed a lawsuit that challenges the federal government’s policy and practice of turning back asylum seekers without a CBP One appointment at ports of entry.
The suit seeks to end CBP’s latest turnback policy and ensure that the government is following its own guidance and the laws meant to protect asylum seekers' rights and safety. We can’t allow people to be sent back to danger simply because they can’t make an appointment with a flawed app.
We will keep you updated as the lawsuit progresses. In the meantime, please consider donating to support this litigation.
Sincerely,
Kate Melloy Goettel
Legal Director of Litigation
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