Migrants with disabilities can鈥檛 access the asylum system the way others can, according to a that advocacy organizations filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this week.
Most migrants who want to be considered eligible for asylum have to schedule appointments at ports of entry along the U.S-Mexico border through the .
The app has undergone several updates since its introduction in 2020 because of software glitches. But the app is still inaccessible to migrants with a range of disabilities, including those who are blind, deaf, have mobility issues, and have intellectual disabilities, according to the complaint, filed by the Texas Civil Rights Project and Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center.
This is partially because they have to have to log into the app every day over monthslong spans to actually receive an appointment, according to the complaint.
The department did not respond to immediate request for comment.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e prioritized,鈥� said Kassandra Gonzalez, a staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project. 鈥淪ometimes, this app is the only way for them to access asylum eligibility. It speaks to the bigger problem of creating roadblocks, and how those roadblocks harm vulnerable migrants, like those with disabilities.鈥�
Border strategies have become more contentious in past months. The state and federal government have clashed over authority, including during the standoff in Eagle Pass this January.
鈥淭his is the most vulnerable population, the most overlooked population,鈥� said Kate Thorstad, staff attorney at the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, a legal organization that provides legal assistance to those with disabilities. 鈥淢igrants with disabilities just face extra burdens and threats to their health and lives at every turn.鈥�
A small, but vulnerable, population
On the ground, the population size of disabled migrants is uncertain, and 鈥渘o official international statistics exist鈥� on how many migrants have disabilities, according to the . Around 15% of the world鈥檚 population has a disability, according to the .
But for workers on the ground, they see a disproportionate amount of those seeking help also having disabilities 鈥� partially because of 鈥渢he rate of physical violence asylum seekers are fleeing,鈥� said Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, border rights project director for Al Otro Lado, which provides support to refugees.
鈥淲hen we're dealing with asylum seekers that are victims of torture by state governments, by organized crime, they鈥檙e coming with significant mental health issues will make it difficult for them to navigate a complicated app like CBP One,鈥� Ramos said.
Because the app isn鈥檛 accessible to disabled migrants, it鈥檚 in violation of a federal law, according to the complaint. Under of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal agencies have to make sure technology allows individuals with disabilities to access and use it.
Even if the app鈥檚 software is made more accessible for some, there are others 鈥� especially those who have mobility issues 鈥� for whom the app will 鈥渘ever be accessible,鈥� Thorstad said.
鈥淔or them, there must be an alternative means,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here has to be another way.鈥�
This includes showing up at a port of entry without an appointment and being processed by officers there, she said.
Finding Accommodations
Felicia Rangel-Samponaro runs The Sidewalk School for Asylum Seekers in Matamoros and Reynosa, two cities just across the border from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Migrants with disabilities and their families often need accommodations outside of the app before they can even consider starting to use it, she said.
One blind man traveled to the border alone and was dropped off at the school two weeks ago, she said.
鈥淎ccommodations have to be made, even on the Mexico side, outside of the app, just getting this guy somewhere safe to live, and eat, and be OK,鈥� Rangel-Samponaro said. 鈥淥nce that鈥檚 squared away, it then moves over to: 鈥榊ou have to use the app every day. Did you know that?鈥欌��
鈥淏ut he's not able to use the app at all,鈥� she added. 鈥淓ven if we got someone who was kind enough to help him out for a week, he or she may be gone the following week, so then he's stuck again.鈥�
Rangel-Samponaro has seen his story repeat over and over: a man with schizophrenia who couldn鈥檛 manage logging in every day. A woman with facial paralysis who couldn鈥檛 use the app鈥檚 facial recognition software. A family with a child who had autism, who couldn鈥檛 use that software, either. And exceptions exist, but they鈥檙e not easy to get, she said.
鈥淚t's a whole process in order to prove to our U.S. government that this person cannot use the app. And while we're going through this long process of proving this to the U.S. government 鈥� this person with a disability is stuck,鈥� she said.
鈥淚f you're disabled, you also cannot use this application. If anyone in your family, if your child is disabled in any type of way where they can't take the picture, then this application is not for you either,鈥� she added. 鈥淵ou are literally stuck.鈥�
Neelam Bohra is a 2023-24 New York Times disability reporting fellow, based at The Texas Tribune through a partnership with The New York Times and the National Center on Disability and Journalism, which is based at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.