Migrants left in despair at the border as asylum system shuts down

This story first appeared in NPR’s live blog of Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, where you can find more coverage and context from the day.

JUAREZ, Mexico — As Donald Trump took the oath of office, Margelis Tinoco knelt on the ground at the foot of the international bridge that crosses from Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas.

“Please, dear God have mercy on us,” she wept. “I came all this way, thought everything had been solved and now everything comes crumbling down.”

Almost as soon as Donald Trump became President Trump, the phone application that allows migrants appointments to seek asylum in the United States went down.

“Existing appointments scheduled through CBP One are no longer valid,” the phone flashed.

A few dozen migrants had already scored appointments. Some of them had waited almost a year in Mexico, applying every day for the chance to cross the border legally. And then, within minutes, their dream of making a new life in the U.S. was undone.

“I don’t have any plans,” Tinoco said. “I don’t have anywhere to live. How do I explain this to my child?”

The Biden administration rolled out the CBP One app in January 2023. The White House said at the time it was intended to “reduce wait times and crowds at U.S. ports of entry and allow for safe, orderly, and humane processing.” Since then, the app has provided nearly 900,000 people with appointments to show up at ports of entry, get screened and petition for asylum, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump vowed in September to get rid of the app, which he falsely claims is used to smuggle migrants into the U.S.

Monday, officials with the incoming administration, speaking to reporters on background, said Trump plans to end asylum entirely, essentially closing the border to those without legal status, and suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months.

Monday, the app’s website read: “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.”

Mexican authorities told the migrants they were no longer allowed to cross. “The last ones crossed at 5 am,” spokeswoman Nayareli Rivera said.

Some of the migrants walked back to their shelters, others just sat by the border fence in the cold, crying.

NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán contributed to this report.