President Donald Trump wasted no time acting on his sweeping immigration agenda after being sworn in on Monday, January 20, fulfilling campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration and overhaul border security.
Among his first moves were reviving the “Remain in Mexico” policy, shutting down CBP One—a key app used to schedule border crossings—and signaling plans to end birthright citizenship.
The measures appear to be a mix of old policies from his first administration and new strategies that are expected to face significant legal and logistical hurdles. “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
CBP One App Shut, Appointments Cancelled
By midday Monday, the Biden-era CBP One app, which scheduled daily appointments for migrants at border crossings, was no longer operational. “Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One™ that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled,” CBP One’s website stated.
The CBP One app, which allowed 1,450 people a day to enter the US on parole, had been a cornerstone of the previous administration’s efforts to manage border crossings. Critics argued the app encouraged more migration, while supporters said it brought order to the process. Migrants with appointments, some of whom had waited weeks, were left stranded on Monday.
That includes Melanie Mendoza, 21, and her boyfriend. She said they left Venezuela over a year ago, spending more than $4,000 and traveling for a month, including walking for three days. “We don’t know what we are going to do,” she said in Tijuana, Mexico, just on the other side of the border from San Diego.
‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Reinstated
Trump’s administration also reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forces asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico while their US immigration court cases proceed. Mexico agreed to receive asylum-seekers, provided there is a system for scheduling border appointments.
Critics say the policy, which affected 70,000 migrants during Trump’s first term, endangers asylum-seekers in northern Mexico, where cartels often target migrants for kidnapping and extortion. “This is déjà vu of the darkest kind,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge. She warned the policy risks exacerbating dangerous conditions without addressing migration’s root causes.
Birthright Citizenship in Trump’s Crosshairs
Trump renewed his push to end birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, which grants US citizenship to anyone born on American soil, including children of undocumented immigrants and visitors. The move would face formidable legal challenges, as the constitutional right has been enshrined since 1868. The White House has not detailed how Trump plans to implement the change.
Fear of Mass Deportations
Trump has pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, a promise that has sparked fear among migrant communities. His administration plans to scrap Biden-era deportation priorities that targeted people with criminal records or national security threats, expanding enforcement to all undocumented individuals.
Erlinda, a Salvadoran single mother who has been in the US since 2013, signed over legal rights to her US-born children, fearing she could be detained. Plans for deportation raids appeared uncertain after details of a planned operation in Chicago leaked. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said on Fox News that the leak had raised safety concerns for immigration officers.