WASHINGTON (AP) —The Trump administration has overhauled the cellphone app once used to let migrants apply for asylum, turning it into a system that allows people living illegally in the U.S. to announce they want to voluntarily leave.
The renamed app, now called CBP Home, is part of the administration’s campaign to encourage “self-deportations, ″ touted as an easy and cost-effective way to nudge along Trump’s push to deport millions of immigrants.
“The app provides illegal aliens in the United States with a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart, offering them the chance to leave before facing harsher consequences,” Pete Flores, the acting commissioner for U.S Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement.
Moments after Trump took office, the former app, CBP One, stopped allowing migrants to apply for asylum, and tens of thousands of border appointments were canceled.