JD Vance Calls App That Allows Migrants to Seek Asylum in the US 'The Most Underreported Scandal of the Biden Admin'

In a heated post on Friday, Vice President-elect JD Vance described the CBP One app, a tool that allows migrants to schedule asylum appointments, as a "scandal" by the Biden administration.

"The fact that this application exists is the most underreported scandal of the Biden admin. They made an application to facilitate illegal immigration. It boggles the mind," Vance wrote on X, with a video of U.S. Senator Josh Hawley denouncing the app during a hearing.

The video shows Hawley speaking to Trump's nominee for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. He called the app a "concierge service for illegal immigrants."

Hawley cited an inspector general's report that uncovered how CBP One users, many of whom applied for asylum through the app, listed identical U.S. addresses despite having no familial ties to those addresses.

"The idea that the federal government would pay for this kind of concierge service for illegals, I think, is outrageous," Hawley said.

Noem then vowed to terminate the app on "day one" if confirmed to her post.

Launched under the Trump administration in 2020 but revamped in January 2023, CBP One was initially intended to create an organized system for migrants seeking asylum at U.S. ports of entry.

By allowing pre-scheduled appointments, the app aims to reduce dangerous border crossings and streamline the asylum process. Over 900,000 migrants have used the app since the Biden administration expanded its capabilities, as reported by The Guardian.

The Biden administration has defended CBP One as a pragmatic solution for managing the influx of asylum seekers. But Vance and other conservative voices argued that the app encourages abuse of the system. Hawley pointed to reports that suggest CBP One does not require users to prove asylum eligibility, with some never facing court hearings.

Trump previously pledged to discontinue the app when he returns to the oval office.

Meanwhile, advocates are warning against Trump policies that would deport or revoke protections for immigrants who have already adhered to the legal process.

"It would just be the most heinous act of betrayal of trust," refugee advocate Tom Cartwright from Witness at the Border told The Guardian, "for the United States to take vulnerable people and revoke their parole when they acted in good faith and they did everything that this country asked them to do."

Trump's team is preparing to unveil a sweeping series of immigration-related executive orders after his inauguration, sources familiar with the plans told CNN. The orders are intended to reverse many Biden-era policies.

The proposed actions reportedly include large-scale ICE operations in big cities, increased deployment of Pentagon resources to the southern Mexico border and tightened restrictions on U.S. entry.