President Trump shuts down CBP One App dashing migrants’ asylum hopes
President Trump pulled the plug on CBP One app leaving many migrants, many waiting for months in Mexico, finding new ways to seek asylum.
- FEMA is demanding the names of immigrants served by El Paso charities and local governments before reimbursing them for expenses.
- U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who helped establish the program, condemned the move, calling it “outrageous and offensive.”
- The number of migrants arriving at the border has decreased significantly in recent months.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is blocking the reimbursement of funds to El Paso area charities and local governments until they provide the names of migrants and their addresses that were served using federal grants.
FEMA, which is an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, sent the letter on March 11 to charities and local governments that received federal grants as part of the efforts to address the massive arrival of migrants at the border. The letter states that the DHS has “significant concerns” that Shelter and Services Program “funding is going to entities engaged in or facilitating illegal activities.”
The city of El Paso, the county, local charities — including the Salvation Army, Opportunity Center for the Homeless, Annunciation House, Reynolds House — and Catholic and Baptist groups, including the El Paso Diocese, all received federal grants.
Both El Paso County and the city confirm that they received the letter. But they both say that they have not billed any funds to be reimbursed.
“El Paso County did not bill any services under the Shelter and Services Program because we expected challenges with the reimbursement process of the program in the new administration,” El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego told the El Paso Times in a statement. “We were able to step up to the plate to serve migrants being processed in our community because of separate FEMA funds. It is disappointing that we answered the call to serve and now communities who were awarded these funds to treat people with dignity are being attacked by the current administration.”
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar. D-El Paso, was a key to the establishment of the Shelter and Services Program, or SSP, in 2022. The program was launched in order to guarantee that local tax dollars were not used for federal operations.
Escobar condemned the blocking of reimbursements and accusations.
“The Trump administration’s decision to not only revoke such funding, but accuse organizations of facilitating so-called illegal activities, is not just outrageous and offensive, but is unfortunately consistent with his past practice of targeting border communities,” Escobar said in a news statement. “In an effort to ensure humanitarian treatment of individuals processed by CBP, the federal government asked local governments and NGOs for help. And it wasn’t just the Biden administration that asked for this help, but during Donald Trump’s first term, CBP also coordinated with local NGOs and communities for help.”
FEMA’s demand for the identities of migrants supported by Borderland charities reflect the increased pressure immigrant rights groups face.
The El Paso charity Annunciation House has faced lawsuits from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxon’s office for their work in housing migrants. The attorney general’s office has sought to shut down the shelter, claiming that it has violated state law by helping people suspected of being undocumented.
The case is currently pending in the state Supreme Court.
County and charities prepare responses
Local charities are considering what their next steps will be.
John Martin, the executive director of Opportunity Center for the Homeless, acknowledged that the El Paso based charity had received the letter. He explained that they will be able to comment after they complete a review.
Martin says they are only seeking reimbursement for $7,000.
Southern border encounters
The number of migrants arriving at the border are currently at record lows.
“It has changed dramatically over the last year,” Martin said. “The numbers are very low, if non-existent.”
There were only 2,110 Border Patrol encounters in the El Paso sector in February 2025, according to data from CBP. A year prior there were 23,919 encounters.
The sharp decrease in migrants crossing the southern border began in 2024 during the Biden administration, after Mexico began to implement a heavy-handed immigration enforcement policy and after the Biden administration barred accessing asylum between ports of entry and implemented the CBP One application as the only means of accessing asylum. The numbers plummeted further after the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20 with the administration’s decision to close the CBP One application through an executive order.
The sharp decrease in arrivals along the border has led to the closure of the emergency shelters opened to serve migrants arriving at the border. El Paso County’s Migrant Support Services Center shuttered at the end of December.
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:[email protected];@palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
