U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas and 29 of his Democratic House colleagues are asking the Department of Homeland Security to improve a Customs and Border Protection mobile app used to manage asylum interview requests, his office said Tuesday.
In a March 21 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, lawmakers wrote that “while DHS has made some changes, urgent issues remain unresolved.”
Lawmakers contend the app has a limited number of languages, which “effectively restricts access to asylum,” Vargas’ office said in a statement.
Vargas and his colleagues called on DHS “to take immediate steps to both improve CBP One and resolve accessibility issues to protect the safety of asylum seekers and support border communities and other cities that receive new arrivals.
“A year has passed since the implementation of CBP One as the primary mechanism for managing asylum interview requests,” according to the letter. “While CBP has implemented minor changes to address serious glitches within the app, there are still several critical issues that require immediate attention and resolution.
“As asylum seekers remain in danger, CBP must address these access issues to ensure safe and humane asylum processing and relief for those at risk,” the letter continued.
Neither the DHS nor CBP immediately responded to a request for comment.
Lawmakers wrote that CBP’s requirement that asylum seekers use the app undermines the process.
“CBP One itself is technologically complex and has significant language limitations, creating inherent barriers for applicants who are not familiar with mobile devices or who speak a language other than the three currently offered in the app,” they stated.
Vargas’ office said the CBP One app is available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole, but “many asylum seekers who do not speak these languages find themselves at a significant disadvantage and struggle to access critical information and navigate the complex asylum process.”
Vargas added that even migrants who speak one of the three operating languages often encounter poor translations.
The app “is the only way for arriving asylum seekers to schedule an appointment and get screened for asylum,” the letter stated.
“Individuals who cannot use CBP One due to language barriers, technical failures, or other obstacles and present at a port of entry must demonstrate to often-skeptical CBP officials that it was not possible to apply through the app,” the lawmakers added. “There are real consequences for individuals who cannot use the app to schedule an appointment.”
Last year, Vargas and over 30 House representatives sent a letter to the DHS stating their initial concerns with the CBP One app.
City News Service contributed to this article.