LAS CRUCES, N.M. –– Migrants throughout the U.S. were stranded when President Trump ordered the shut-down of the CBP One app—a free mobile app controlled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that allowed individuals to access various CBP services, including scheduling appointments for border crossings and checking wait times.
Many immigrants, like Carlos Oropeza, left their homes and families for a chance to enter the U.S. Oropeza left his wife and daughter in his home country of Venezuela to travel to the northern border of Mexico. Oropeza wanted to request asylum and enter the U.S. legally. After scheduling an appointment through the CBP One app, the entire system was shut down.
“In the way I realized about that app and I started using it to make the appointment and everything,” Oropeza said. “I was hopeful that it would work out, but everything went downhill.”
Oropeza is currently working and staying with some friends in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, as shelters are full, leaving the immigrants with no clear answers. Oropeza’s friend Pedro has been left with no answers and has ran out of options.
“Simply put, we have to accept the things that come and those that are yet to come,” Pedro said. “…besides that, if there is any option later on we hope for it and if not then a return to our country.”
Oropeza said he watches the bridge connecting Ciudad Juárez to El Paso everyday, in hopes that his dream of entering the U.S. will soon come to fruition. However, after Trump halted the asylum system, Oropeza said his dream seems farther away than ever.
There is no clear plan from officials, leaving thousands of immigrants stranded in Ciudad Juárez with no legal options. The frustration and desperation continues to grow daily. With all that has happened, Oropeza decided to return to Venezuela, choosing family over uncertainty with a quiet hope for the future.
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