During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to prohibit federal funding for the use of the CBP One app to facilitate the entry of aliens into the United States. The app, which the Biden administration relaunched in January 2023, allows persons from any country who are physically present in Mexico to schedule appointments for immigration proceedings at U.S. ports of entry.
The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on March 22, 2024 by a vote of 45 to 51 (Roll Call 105). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because migrants who do not satisfy the conditions for asylum are often, upon their entry into the United States and release from custody, granted parole for up to two years under Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, making them eligible for work permits. Given that aliens are presumed to be ineligible for asylum if they enter the United States unlawfully after failing to seek refuge in a third country (e.g., Mexico), the CBP One app has effectively become a fraudulent gateway for millions of illegal migrants. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stipulates that Congress shall have the power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization,” and Article II, Section 3 requires the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
