Dem
47
GOP
53
You said Donald Trump wasn't tuned into the modern digital world? Wrong! His administration just released a new app to help people self-deport. But Trump isn't as sharp as he used to be. The app is free. Surely people interested in self deportation would have gladly paid $9.95 for it. A missed opportunity.
Immigration lawyers are advising clients not to use it. They are afraid that ICE will use the information to come after people using it and arrest them. They say if you are going to leave, better to just go on your own terms and not leave a paper trail.
The app is part of a $200 million campaign to get immigrants to leave the country. Another part is a video starring DHS Sec. Kristi Noem. In it she alternates between threatening immigrants and praising Donald Trump. In the ad, Noem looks stern and unforgiving. Here it is:
DHS used to have an app that helped immigrants file requests for asylum efficiently and legally. That app is gone now, as Trump doesn't want anyone to request asylum, so why make it easy? Nearly 1 million people used the old app to schedule appointments during the Biden administration. Those days are gone and even if an immigrant figures out how to file and request an appointment with an immigration judge, the backlog was years. Trump has fired staff from the immigration courts, resulting in judges retiring. An even-more understaffed court will make the backlog even longer. (V)