The report from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) warned that the app, which has processed over 765,000 appointments since its launch 18 months ago, is vulnerable to security breaches.”Having an address in the United States is not a legal requirement to seek asylum,” Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, director of Al Otro Lado‘s border rights project said, as reported by Newsweek, adding that the app imposes an additional burden on asylum seekers by requiring one.
The report highlighted seven frequently used addresses, with one Central California home listed as the final destination for 358 individuals, 266 of whom had different last names. The app’s limitations make it difficult to flag such patterns since CBP officers at one port of entry cannot access appointment data from other ports.
Additionally, other security flaws were uncovered, including migrants creating multiple accounts to increase their chances of securing an appointment. One case involved an Armenian migrant submitting 466 registrations in a month. Ramos attributed this to desperation, noting, “If we were told our lives depended on an algorithm, of course, we would be involved in multiple accounts.”
CBP responded to the OIG’s concerns by stating that new security measures were implemented earlier this year, including cross-border data sharing. However, the OIG has not closed the matter, awaiting further evidence of action from CBP.
Newsweek also reported Ramos’ plea for changes, warning that without them, migrants could fall into the hands of the very people they are fleeing from or even die while waiting for appointments.
Source : Times of India
