DHS admitted hundreds of thousands of 'inadmissible' aliens through CBP One app: House panel

The Department of Homeland Security has been using a migrant processing app to release hundreds of thousands of otherwise inadmissible foreign nationals into the U.S. interior, according to documents obtained by the House Homeland Security Committee.

CBP One is an app through which would-be entrants to the United States may schedule appointments to appear at U.S. ports of entry. Ostensibly, its users must be in northern Mexico to schedule an appointment, though reporting from the Washington Examiner has suggested that users have turned to virtual private networks (VPN) to evade the geographic requirements. Moreover, the app has come under fire due to its alleged use by cartels in human trafficking operations.

The materials thus far obtained by the committee indicate that DHS admits nearly all of the inadmissible aliens who arrive at points of entry with an appointment made through CBP One. Between Jan. 12, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2023, more than 278,431 appointments were made through the app, with roughly 95.8% of individuals securing parole into the U.S. interior.

Those 266,846 entrants each received a "Notice to Appear" before an immigration court before entering the country. The high rate of parole prompted Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn.; to declare that DHS "Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas has utterly abused the CBP One app in his quest for open borders."

"These numbers are proof that Mayorkas' operation is a smokescreen for the mass release of individuals into this country who would otherwise have zero claim to be admitted," he said. "At a time when global tensions are rising, and our enemies are growing bolder, releasing tens of thousands of these people into our communities—especially when they have not received adequate, if any, vetting—is irresponsible. "

Particularly concerning to Green were the highest of admission for nationals from adversarial nations. In total, 94% of the 20,948 Russians who scheduled appointments through CBP One secured parole. Of Afghan applicants, 93% of the 246 secured entry to the U.S. Ninety-seven percent of the 57,381 Venezuelans secured admission. 

Among other adversarial countries, the rate was 98% of 801 Belarusians, 88% of 18 Iranians, 88% of 36 Chinese, and 82% of 2,279 Uzbeks. Of those hailing from Mexico and the Northern Triangle, those numbers were 93% of 58,772 Mexicans, 96% of 20,776 Hondurans, and 94% of 3,939 Guatemalans.

The report comes amid mounting concerns that hostile states may take advantage of the porous southern border and lax immigration policies to infiltrate the United States. The San Diego field office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has warned law enforcement of the prospect that "[f]oreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico."

Motivating such concerns is the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which threatens to spill into neighboring nations and potentially trigger a wider war.

Former Trump national security advisor Dr. Walid Phares on Monday told the "Just the News, No Noise" television show that the "reality is that Hamas, other jihadists, Hezbollah, the groups linked to the Iran regime, Ba'athists, have been crossing the border, not just for days or months, for years."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.