They may have entered via widely abused Biden-era phone app
By Michael Bielawski
It’s been reported that two students in the Champlain Valley School District have been targeted for deportation via a federal crackdown on Biden-era immigration policies by the Trump Administration.
“This week, we learned that two of our students—teenagers from Nicaragua who currently attend Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg—are facing expulsion from the United States,” stated a joint message by Champlain Valley School District superintendent Adam Bunting and Champlain Valley Education Association president Emily McLean on Front Porch Forum, sent to VDC by a reader.
It continues, “According to an order from the Department of Homeland Security, certain groups of Nicaraguans who had been allowed legal entry in the United States under temporary protections are now being stripped of that status before their original deadline and irrespective of other processes.”
The statement concludes by offering taxpayer-funded resources to help the two students. They wrote, “For those who are compelled to take actions, contact Christina Daudelin who can share additional resources as requested.”
A report from NBC News indicates a federal judge has since halted these deportations until “the case advances to the next phase.” The original target for the deportations was April 24.
The Trump Administration disputes the legality of an immigrant’s entry if they utilized the controversial CBP One app. This is a software that allows immigrants to initiate documentation and interviews online rather than in person while crossing the border.
The Associated Press reports, “Migrants who were temporarily allowed to live in the United States by using a Biden-era online appointment app have been told to leave the country ‘immediately,’ officials said Monday.”
The app was part of a two-year parole program initially intended for exceptional circumstances but has, under the Biden Administration, evolved into a regular method of entry.
“More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country using the CBP One app since January 2023,” another AP report says. “They were generally allowed to remain in the United States for two years with authorization to work under a presidential authority called parole.”
The January order from the White House says its objectives include to “Cease using the ‘CBP One’ application as a method of patrolling or facilitating the entry of the otherwise inadmissible aliens into the United States.”
The next is to “Terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my Executive Orders, including the program known as the ‘Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.’”
“Hundreds of thousands” abused app
The US House Homeland Security Committee issued a concerning report regarding alleged widespread abuse of the app during the Biden Administration. The 2023 report accuses the administration of inhibiting their efforts to scrutinize the program.
“Following months of stonewalling, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally responded to multiple requests by the House Committee on Homeland Security for information and documents regarding the expanded use of the CBP One app by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ department to release hundreds of thousands of otherwise inadmissible aliens into the United States,” the report states.
Their records cover between Jan. 12, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2023. It states, “the ongoing review of the initial production of documents revealed several shocking findings about DHS’ abuse of the CBP One app.”
Among these findings was that 95.8% of all otherwise “inadmissible aliens” who scheduled appointments using the app were simply issued a “Notice to Appear” and then released into the country.
“These numbers are proof that Mayorkas’ [Former US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas] operation is a smokescreen for the mass release of individuals into this country who would otherwise have zero claim to be admitted,” the report states.
It continues, “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.”
They may come back
Those who have used the app nationwide are similarly asked to leave voluntarily or face arrest and deportation without permission to return. They are being asked to use a reworked version of the app, now called the CBP Home app.
The reworked app allows users to upload documentation about who they are and where they are going. They’ve been instructed that if they leave on their own accord, then they may re-enter legally.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle