JOHN: U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION SAYS THE LIST OF PEOPLE WHO ILLEGALLY CROSSED THE BORDER IN JULY WAS THE LOWEST NUMBER IN FOUR YEARS.
AFTER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PASSED NEW RULES ENCOURAGING MIGRANTS TO USE APPS.
>> MANY IMMIGRANTS ARE DENIED FROM GRANTING ASYLUM AT OUR SOUTHERN BORDER UNLESS THEY APPLY FOR IT ACCORDING TO A SPECIFIC LEGAL PROCESS.
>> HE SAID ASYLUM SEEKERS SHOULD USE EXISTING LEGAL AVENUES. >> FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES LEGALLY, SUCH AS BY MAKING AN APPOINTMENT AND ENTERING THROUGH A PORT OF ENTRY, ASYLUM IS STILL AVAILABLE TO THEM.
>> SOUNDS EASY, AT LEAST IN THEORETICALLY.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DOWNLOAD THE APP TO YOUR SMARTPHONE, FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
BUT IN PRACTICE — >> THE APP IS NOTORIOUSLY BUGS.
WHILE PREPARING FOR THIS INTERVIEW I TRIED TO USE AM AND THERE IS AN ERROR.
>> THIS IS JEREMY YOUNG.
He is an attorney at a non-federal law firm that represents immigrants seeking asylum, and he says there are bigger problems.
>> NOT EVERYONE HAS A SMARTPHONE.
>> YOU AGREE THAT AT ANY TIME APPOINTMENTS CANNOT BE MADE WITHOUT SMARTPHONES.
ALSO, THE APP IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THREE LANGUAGES.
ENGLISH, SPANISH OR HAITIAN CREOLE.
AND FOR ME IT IS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ALLOWANCES FOR PEOPLE WITH CERTAIN DISABILITIES, E.G. FOR BLIND PEOPLE.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THE APP COULD BE THAT DEMAND CLEARLY EXCEEDS SUPPLY.
THERE ARE ONLY 1,450 CP1 APPOINTMENTS EVERY DAY, BUT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MAY APPOINTMENTS ARE TRYING TO GET AN ACCEPTANCE.
>> THEY PUT EVERYONE IN A LINE AND THE LINE IS ALREADY LONGER THAN ANY SNAKE THEY HAVE EVER SEEN IN THEIR LIFE.
>> PRESIDENT BIDEN’S EXECUTIVE ACTIONS WILL NOT INCREASE THE NUMBER OF APPOINTMENTS.
The average waiting time at Tee Wan Air is already seven months, and local authorities are concerned that accommodation will be overcrowded with people waiting for an appointment.
>> JASMINE, AN ASYLUM SEEKER FROM MEXICO, SAYS THE LONG WAITING TIME FOR A LICENSE AFFECTS EVERYONE’S MENTAL HEALTH.
>> THERE IS A LOT OF FEAR AND DEPRESSION HERE IN THE ACCOMMODATIONS, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE WOMEN AND IN THE ACCOMMODATION HOUSE.
>> SHE SAYS MANY OF THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE HOME ARE DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS.
SOME OF THE WOMEN SUFFER FROM HAIR LOSS.
>> IT’S FRUSTRATING.
SEVERAL MOTHERS BECOME BARD HERE, THOSE WHO HAVE WAIT HERE FOR FIVE OR SIX MONTHS.
>> MARIA, A WOMAN TRAVELING WITH HER TWO TEENAGE SONS, BEGAN TO CRY WHEN ASKED HOW LONG SHE WAS WAIT.
>> The wait has taken so long.
WE ARE FLEEING FROM ORGANIZED CRIME, BANG HOLM.
>> SHE DECIDED TO LEAVE HER HOME AFTER A LOCAL DRUG CARTEL BURNED DOWN HIS BUSINESS AND TRIED TO RECRUIT HER SONS.
Maria can try to apply for asylum in person at the legal border crossing, but is distracted each time by border guards and asked to use the app.
>> THEY SAY WE HAVE TO CROSS THE BORDER LEGALLY, BUT WHAT DO WE DO IF THERE ARE NO LEGAL OPTIONS AVAILABLE?
>> Maria says she wants to take legal action, but she is beginning to lose hope and she cannot avoid it.
Officials in Tijuana say the long wait times when using the app actually contribute to illegal border crossings.
1/3 OF MIKE SURCHARGES IMPOSED ON PEOPLE WHO CROSS THE BORDER ILLEGALLY DO SO ONLY AFTER THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED TO MAKE APPOINTMENTS.
>> THEY COME TO US WITH A LOT OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS.
THEY WANT TO GET IN AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THAT WHAT THEY ARE ESCAPING WILL FOLLOW YOU.
>> He said migrants in the Midwest were losing hope.
>> IF YOU ENFORCE THESE NEW RULES, YOU SHOULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF APPOINTMENTS, RIGHT?
>> IN JUNE, SEVERAL IMMIGRANT INTEREST GROUPS FILED LAWSUITS TO BLOCK THE NEW RULES.
