Immigration advocates have taken the legal action against the U.S. government, filing a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday. The suit challenges the use of the "CBP (Customs and Border Protection) One" app in the asylum process arguing that it violates migrant's human rights and creates barriers for those seeking asylum in the U.S.
The suit filed by immigration organization Al Otro Lado and the Haitian Bridge Alliance, along with 10 migrants, accuses the CBP One app of establishing an "electronic waitlist" that limits access to the U.S. asylum process, favoring only a privileged few.
"CBP One essentially creates an electronic waitlist that restricts access to the U.S. asylum process to a limited number of privileged migrants," notes the legal brief.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration launched CBP One in January as it wound down immigration rules enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Migrants must use this app to schedule an appointment at a port of entry into the United States.
But accessing the app requires a smartphone, internet access and electricity – all hard to access for migrants on long and dangerous journeys fleeing their home countries.
Between January and June an estimated 170,000 people scheduled appointments through the app, authorities have said.
However, migrants and activists have both criticized the app due to the difficulties in accessing the app. The lawsuit also said that the app's discriminatory facial recognition technology has prevented many Black and darker-skinned immigrants from obtaining an appointment.
The legal document states that by forcing migrants who have not made an appointment through the app to turn back at the border, the U.S. government is putting them in greater danger.
"The Biden administration's new turnback policy is just the latest manifestation of the U.S. government's multiyear effort to block access to asylum at the southern border," said Melissa Crow, litigation director for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, which is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
"By gatekeeping asylum behind an inaccessible smartphone app, the turnback policy violates our laws, makes a mockery of our asylum system, and leaves the most marginalized refugees behind," she added.
The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to Biden's immigration policies, which have focused on developing legal migration programs and alternatives in an attempt to lower illegal crossings.
In a recent ruling, U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal government's right to decide which undocumented migrants should be targeted for deportation, after the states of Texas and Louisiana challenged that policy.