Illegal immigrants will have the opportunity to self-deport through an application launched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on unlawful entries into the United States.
The CBP Home App allows illegal migrants or aliens whose parole has been revoked to inform the U.S. government about their intent to depart the country. In a Monday statement, CBP said it launched the application to comply with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”
“CBP Home App strengthens our mission to secure the U.S. border by ensuring lawful entry for travelers and supporting effective enforcement,” Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores said in the statement.
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According to Flores, the application provides migrants a “straightforward way to declare their intent to depart voluntarily, offering them the chance to leave before facing harsher consequences.”
“This reinforces our commitment to enforcing U.S. laws and safeguarding national security,” the acting CBP commissioner continued.
In addition to the self-deportation feature, the application includes a function that allows individuals to apply and pay for an I-94 up to seven days before arriving in the United States. The CBP Home App also enables users to check wait times at the border or submit a manifest for bus operators.
The application’s self-deportation function is part of a $200 million nationwide and international ad campaign urging illegal immigrants to leave the U.S. or face deportation, according to a Monday announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“The Biden Administration exploited the CBP One app to allow more than 1 million aliens to illegally enter the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated in the news release. “With the launching of the CBP Home app, we are restoring integrity to our immigration system.”
“The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self-deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” she added. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.”
In response to an inquiry from The Christian Post, CBP pointed to its Monday statement and the news release from the DHS. The DHS did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Under President Joe Biden’s administration, the CBP Home app was referred to as CBP One. Upon entering office for the second time, Trump ended the use of the CBP One app via an executive order.
Lora Ries, the director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, told CP it’s in “the long-term interest of illegal aliens to self-deport so they have the option to return lawfully to the U.S. to resume their life and opportunity in America.”
“The CBP Home mobile app is an efficient way for CBP and aliens to communicate with each other,” the policy expert stated. “CBP should add a GPS capability to verify that an alien has in fact departed the U.S. That would also help the agency implement the decades-old statutory requirement of Biometric Exit, which the 9/11 Commission recommended.”
Immigration attorneys like Gustavo Mora have expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the new CBP Home app, as local news outlet KNBC reported this week. The new application has removed a previous feature from the original CBP One app that allowed migrants to book an appointment with an immigration judge, the outlet stated.
“Personally, I don’t think there’s much of a benefit to the app,” Mora said. “If you have never had any immigration history, then you have due process rights, and their rights include the ability to present your case in front of an immigration judge.”
Ries argues that immigration attorneys typically have a financial incentive to push for immigrants to go to court.
The president’s January executive order directs federal departments and agencies to “employ all lawful means to ensure the faithful execution of the immigration laws of the United States against all inadmissible and removable aliens.”
During the first full month of Trump’s second presidency, monthly border crossings reached the lowest point in three years, according to data from CBP.
In February 2025, 11,709 encounters occurred between illegal immigrants seeking entry into the country and immigration law enforcement officials. There were 61,465 encounters in January and 96,035 encounters recorded in December 2024, the last full month of the Biden administration.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
