Relaunched CBP Home app gives undocumented immigrants the option to self-deport; pro-immigrant advocates recommend caution

The Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Home app self-deportation reporting feature was released on Monday. This mobile phone app, originally developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to facilitate asylum appointments, requests that all undocumented immigrants add their personal information and then leave the country. 

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the app gives undocumented immigrants the option to self-deport and potentially return legally in the future. However, it doesn’t explain precisely how. 

While some people are afraid to fill it out, others are reconsidering it, like doña Meche. She is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who is thinking very seriously about self-deportation. She has been in the country for 30 years but hasn’t been able to find a path to citizenship. She said the Trump administration doesn’t give her any hopes for an immigration reform. 

Doña Meche, who didn’t provide her full name due to her undocumented status, said she sings in public places and earns her income from the tips she receives every day. 

“I don’t receive any financial help and I’m getting older,” said the 68-year-old immigrant. “I have a daughter in Mexico, and she suggests I return because I’m very lonely here.”

She said she has been paying attention to the news and wonders if the CBP Home app could be her best option before leaving the country. 

Francisco Moreno, executive director of the Council of Mexican Federations in North America (COFEM), said he has heard of people like Doña Meche who want to self-deport. However, this is not the case for the majority of undocumented immigrants, primarily those who have a stable life here with their families. 

“CBP is trying by all means to cause fear among the immigrant community and creating all these tools,” said Moreno.

Moreno said this is a form of repatriation as it happened back in the 1930s when thousands of Mexicans were repatriated from the U.S. Data shows that in over six years, the mass deportation included about 60% of U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. That was considered the biggest exodus in American history. 

Be informed before signing any forms

Immigration attorney Alma Rosa Nieto said she would be very leery of filing the document of the CBP Home app because it sounds more like a trap, and Secretary Noem's promise is unrealistic. She said this is a way to encourage immigrants to add their information and leave the country without guaranteeing re-entry. 

“Unless there is something officially signed in the app that says yes, USCIS will consider giving you parole to come back in or a visa, but if nothing's promised, that doesn't sound realistic at all,” said Nieto. “No U.S. Embassy or personnel is going to give someone a way to come back in if they've been here undocumented for a number of years.”

Nieto recommends that people seek legal advice and talk to an experienced immigration attorney to explore their options. Some may not know that they could start a case.

“Maybe they have a U.S. citizen sibling, maybe they have a U Visa, maybe they have a child that may petition them later,” she said.

Nieto said it would be much easier to have this conversation from here versus being abroad in another country.