FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is pushing for answers from the Department of Homeland Security over its controversial "CBP One" app which allows migrants to make appointments to enter the U.S. and which he dubbed a "concierge service" for illegal immigrants during a fiery exchange with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this week.
"Under your leadership, the Department is marketing a new phone app, called CBP One, that allows unauthorized migrants to reserve a time to cross the border, like making a restaurant reservation. How convenient," Hawley said in a letter to Mayorkas obtained by Fox News Digital.
In January, the Biden administration expanded the use of the CBP One app, which has first been released in 2020 as a portal to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) services, to allow migrants at the southern border to schedule appointments at ports of entry.
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"The CBP One app is an innovative solution we are using to facilitate the safe and orderly arrival of noncitizens who believe they meet certain vulnerability criteria and are requesting a humanitarian exception to the CDC’s Title 42 Order," Mayorkas said in January. "When Title 42 eventually lifts, this new feature will join one of the many tools and processes this Administration is providing for individuals to seek protection in a safe, orderly, and humane manner and to strengthen the security of our borders."
The new app process sees migrants have their photo taken and submit information via the app, while scheduling an appointment up to 14 days in advance to met with a CBP official at a port of entry.
Hawley grilled Mayorkas on the matter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, when he called it a "concierge service" for illegal immigrants.
"It's like a concierge service for illegal immigrants. My question is, you didn't think the border crisis was bad enough that now we're going to have an app that allows illegals to schedule their appointments and come and be admitted to this country" he said.
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Mayorkas accused Hawley of "mischaracterizing" the application’s use and said that currently being used for those who claim an exception to the Title 42 expulsion authority which is due to end in May.
"So instead of them coming in between the ports of entry to claim that urgent medical condition, that extraordinarily acute humanitarian cause, we allow a limited number to arrive at our ports of entry and seek the emergency relief that they need," he said.
Hawley, in his letter, pushed back against Mayorkas’ description of a "limited" number.
"You told me at the hearing that the app was available to a limited number of persons. But you also said ‘tens of thousands’ of migrants have used it. And your Department has pledged to "expan[d] access to the app in Central Mexico"—so even more migrants can schedule their border crossing," he said. "That is far from limited."
Hawley also cited reporting from the Texas Monthly that found that users are not asked whether they are seeking to claim asylum, and that migrants are not interviewed or asked questions about why they are seeking to enter the U.S. -- and are instead "simply released into the country on official parole."
"Nothing in this new program requires you to actually seek asylum somehow. We decided to punish those who arrive at the border without the app who may be seeking asylum. But we just let in anybody who may or may not have any particular reason to seek asylum so long as they've made an appointment on your Ticketmaster app," Hawley said in the hearing.
"Senator, it's a complete mischaracterization of the program that we announced and are implementing," Mayorkas responded, later calling Hawley’s characterization "confusing and erroneous."
In his letter, Hawley continued his criticism as he called the spending on the app "baffling." He also noted that migrants released into the U.S. are unlikely to see removal for years, if ever.
"Migrants who use CBP One to get across the border are unlikely to face consequences for years: frivolously claiming asylum ensures that an illegal migrant can stay in the United States almost indefinitely, while their asylum claim remains caught up in a massive backlog. And even if they ultimately lose their asylum cases, DHS won’t deport them anyway," he said, a reference to data showing a continued drop in deportations under the administration.
Hawley calls the app "a full-on institutionalization of an open border and the abuse of our asylum laws" and seeks answers to a number of questions so that Congress can consider legislation.
Hawley is seeking the number of individuals who have sought to claim "vulnerable" status through the app, how many are expected to use it after Title 42 ends, and whether it will be updated to ask users if they are seeking asylum.
He also wants to know the cost of the development of the app, any use of third-party contractors and if there are national security risks posed by migrants abusing the app.
