`[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                 EXAMINING CBP ONE: FUNCTIONS, FEATURES,
                          EXPANSION, AND RISKS

=======================================================================

                             JOINT HEARING

                               before the

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                    BORDER SECURITY AND ENFORCEMENT

                                and the

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
             OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY

                                 of the

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________


                             MARCH 21, 2024

                               __________


                           Serial No. 118-57

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                     




                 [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
               


                                     

       Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov/

                               __________


                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

57-673 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2024









                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

                 Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee, Chairman

Michael T. McCaul, Texas             Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, 
Clay Higgins, Louisiana                  Ranking Member
Michael Guest, Mississippi           Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Dan Bishop, North Carolina           Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey
Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida           Eric Swalwell, California
August Pfluger, Texas                J. Luis Correa, California
Andrew R. Garbarino, New York        Troy A. Carter, Louisiana
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Tony Gonzales, Texas                 Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island
Nick LaLota, New York                Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Mike Ezell, Mississippi              Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Anthony D'Esposito, New York         Robert Garcia, California
Laurel M. Lee, Florida               Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Morgan Luttrell, Texas               Robert Menendez, New Jersey
Dale W. Strong, Alabama              Thomas R. Suozzi, New York
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma              Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Elijah Crane, Arizona

                      Stephen Siao, Staff Director
                  Hope Goins, Minority Staff Director
                       Natalie Nixon, Chief Clerk

                                 ------                                

            SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER SECURITY AND ENFORCEMENT

                   Clay Higgins, Louisiana, Chairman

Michael Guest, Mississippi           J. Luis Correa, California, 
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia          Ranking Member
Tony Gonzales, Texas                 Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Morgan Luttrell, Texas               Robert Garcia, California
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma              Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee (ex     Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi 
    officio)                             (ex officio)

                Natasha Eby, Subcommittee Staff Director
       Brieana Marticorena, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director

                                 ------                                

     SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY

                  Dan Bishop, North Carolina, Chairman

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Glenn Ivey, Maryland, Ranking 
Mike Ezell, Mississippi                  Member
Dale W. Strong, Alabama              Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Elijah Crane, Arizona                Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee (ex     Yvette D. Clarke, New York
    officio)                         Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi 
                                         (ex officio)

                  Sang Yi, Subcommittee Staff Director
           Lisa Canini, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director









                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                               Statements

The Honorable Clay Higgins, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Louisiana, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Border 
  Security and Enforcement:
  Oral Statement.................................................     1
  Prepared Statement.............................................     3
The Honorable J. Luis Correa, a Representative in Congress From 
  the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on 
  Border Security and Enforcement:
  Oral Statement.................................................     3
  Prepared Statement.............................................     5
The Honorable Dan Bishop, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of North Carolina, and Chairman, Subcommittee on 
  Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability:
  Oral Statement.................................................     6
  Prepared Statement.............................................     8
The Honorable Glenn Ivey, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Maryland, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on 
  Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability..................     9
The Honorable Mark E. Green, MD, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Tennessee, and Chairman, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    13
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    14

                               Witnesses

Mr. Adam Hunter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Immigration 
  Policy, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Department 
  of Homeland Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................    16
  Prepared Statement.............................................    18
Ms. Diane J. Sabatino, Acting Executive Assistant Commissioner, 
  Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection:
  Oral Statement.................................................    21
  Prepared Statement.............................................    23
Ms. Tammy Meckley, Associate Director, Immigration Records and 
  Identity Services Directorate, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
  Services:
  Oral Statement.................................................    26
  Prepared Statement.............................................    27
Ms. Marta Youth, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of 
  Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State:
  Oral Statement.................................................    29
  Prepared Statement.............................................    31

                               Appendix I

Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green, MD for Adam Hunter........    57
Questions From Chairman Clay Higgins for Adam Hunter.............    58
Questions From Vice Chairman Michael Guest for Adam Hunter.......    58
Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Adam Hunter.....    59
Questions From Vice Ranking Member Delia Ramirez for Adam Hunter.    60
Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green, MD for Diane Sabatino.....    61
Questions From Chairman Clay Higgins for Diane Sabatino..........    62
Questions From Vice Chair Michael Guest for Diane Sabatino.......    62
Questions From Honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene for Diane 
  Sabatino.......................................................    63
Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Diane Sabatino..    63
Questions From Vice Ranking Member Delia Ramirez for Diane 
  Sabatino.......................................................    64
Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green, MD for Tammy Meckley......    64
Questions From Chairman Clay Higgins for Tammy Meckley...........    65
Questions From Vice Chair Michael Guest for Tammy Meckley........    65
Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Tammy Meckley...    66
Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Marta Youth.....    66
Questions From Honorable Delia Ramirez for Marta Youth...........    67

                              Appendix II

The Honorable Dan Bishop, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of North Carolina, and Chairman, Subcommittee on 
  Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability:
  Report.........................................................    69







 
                 EXAMINING CBP ONE: FUNCTIONS, FEATURES,
                          EXPANSION, AND RISKS

                              ----------                              


                        Thursday, March 21, 2024

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                    Committee on Homeland Security,
                       Subcommittee on Border Security and 
                                       Enforcement, and the
                Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, 
                                        and Accountability,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:54 p.m., in 
room 310 Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Clay Higgins 
(Chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
    Present: Representatives Higgins, Bishop, Ezelle, Greene, 
Luttrell, Brecheen, Crane, Green (ex officio), Correa, Ivey, 
Thanedar, Ramirez, Suozzi, and Clarke.
    Mr. Higgins. The Committee on Homeland Security 
Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, the 
Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability 
will come to order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare the 
committee in recess at any point.
    Without objection, the gentleman from New York, Mr. 
D'Esposito, is permitted to sit on the dais and ask questions 
to the witnesses.
    The purpose of this hearing is to examine the expansion of 
the CBP One mobile application. While the app was created for 
commercial purposes, the Biden administration has expanded its 
purpose in January 2023 to allow otherwise inadmissible aliens 
to schedule appointments directly at ports of entry with U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection and be mass-paroled into the 
interior.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
    Mr. Ranking Member and fellow Members of the committee, 
ladies and gentlemen appearing before us, welcome to the 
Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, the 
Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability. 
This is a joint hearing on the Customs and Border Protection's 
CBP One mobile application.
    The purpose of today's hearing is to examine how the Biden 
administration and the Department of Homeland Security have 
expanded the use of CBP One to parole inadmissible aliens into 
the United States.
    This hearing will focus on DHS's use of CBP One to 
institute so-called lawful pathways for illegal aliens without 
proper documentation, the application's functions and features, 
and the security risks that might be exploited by cartels.
    DHS continues to fail in its basic homeland security 
mission to secure the border. Secretary Mayorkas' open border 
policies, fueled by the expansion of CBP One app, has allowed 
virtually any foreign national from abroad to make an 
appointment to enter the country. Simply put, this 
application's users know that a CBP One appointment is their 
ticket into the United States.
    In January, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security 
announced that CBP One would be expanded to include an 
appointment-scheduling function for illegal aliens without 
prior authorization to register for inspection and processing 
at ports of entry.
    CBP One was created to reduce wait times for perishable 
commercial goods passing through these ports of entry for legal 
trade, but the Mayorkas DHS has repurposed the CBP One app.
    Under Secretary Mayorkas, we have seen over 460,000 illegal 
aliens schedule appointments to present at these ports using 
the CBP One app. Most of these illegal aliens are paroled and 
released into the United States, and, in most cases, we really 
don't know who they are.
    This is an abuse of parole by design.
    CBP originally allowed 1,000 CBP One appointments per day. 
As of May 2023, 3 months later, it was increased to 1,450 per 
day. Ironically, the Department continues to praise CBP One's 
appointment capabilities while failing to do the thing that 
would solve the crisis, which is stop the flow of illegals 
across our Southern Border.
    Documents received by our committee show that from January 
through September 2023, more than 266,000, or nearly 96 percent 
of those illegal aliens who scheduled appointments via CBP One 
was simply issued a notice to appear and paroled into the 
United States. This means that only 4 percent of illegal alien 
parolees are detained or removed.
    CBP One is now being weaved into other parole programs like 
the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan, with a CHNV 
Parole program and Family Reunification Parole, or FRP, which 
includes nationals and immediate family members from Columbia, 
Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.
    Through the end of 2024, over 357,000 Cubans, Haitians, 
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans were granted parole.
    But in the end, Secretary Mayorkas' shell game doesn't end 
here. Illegal aliens are also taking advantage of a significant 
CBP One loophole, which allows them to present themselves at a 
port of entry instead of scheduling an appointment via the app 
if they experience problems due to, quote, language barrier, 
illiteracy, significant technical failure, or other on-going 
and serious obstacles.
    There are also numerous technical and security problems 
with CBP One.
    Secretary Mayorkas has encouraged those aliens to make use 
of the so-called lawfully, safe, and orderly pathways by using 
CBP One. Secretary Mayorkas has stated that these border 
policies are safe, orderly, and humane. But anyone familiar 
with the CBP One app knows that its border policies are 
somewhat of a racket designed to expedite illegal immigration 
into America and leave us at risk.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today.
    [The statement of Chairman Higgins follows:]
                   Statement of Chairman Clay Higgins
                             March 21, 2024
    Good afternoon and welcome to the Subcommittee on Border Security 
and Enforcement and the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and 
Accountability joint hearing on Custom and Border Protection's CBP One 
mobile application. The purpose of today's hearing is to examine how 
the Biden administration and the Department of Homeland Security have 
expanded the use of CBP One to parole inadmissible aliens into the 
United States. This hearing will focus on DHS's use of CBP One to 
institute so-called ``lawful pathways'' for illegal aliens without 
proper documentation, the application's functions and features, and the 
security risks that might be exploited by cartels.
    DHS continues to fail in its basic homeland security mission: to 
secure the border. Secretary Mayorkas' open-border policies, fueled by 
the expansion of CBP One App, has allowed virtually any foreign 
national from abroad to make an appointment and enter the country. 
Simply put, this application's users know that a CBP One appointment is 
their ticket into the United States.
    In January 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced that 
CBP One would be expanded to include an appointment-scheduling function 
for illegal aliens without prior authorization to register for 
inspection and processing at ports of entry. CBP One was created to 
reduce wait times for perishable commercial goods passing through these 
ports of entry for legal trade. But the Mayorkas DHS has repurposed the 
CBP One app.
    Under Secretary Mayorkas, we have seen over 460,000 illegal aliens 
schedule appointments to present at these ports using CBP One. Most of 
these illegal aliens are paroled and released into the United States, 
and we don't even know who they really are.
    This is an abuse of parole by design.
    CBP originally allowed 1,000 CBP One appointments per day in May 
2023. Three months later, they increased to 1,450 per day. Ironically, 
the Department continues to praise CBP One's appointment capabilities, 
while failing to do the thing that would solve this crisis: STOP THE 
FLOW.
    Documents received by our committee show that from January through 
September 2023, more than 266,000, or nearly 96 percent of those 
illegal aliens who scheduled appointments via CBP One, were simply 
issued a Notice to Appear and paroled into the United States. That 
means only 4 percent of illegal alien parolees are detained or removed.
    CBP One is now being weaved into other parole programs like the 
Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan, or CHNV parole program and 
Family Reunification Parole, or FRP, which includes nationals and 
immediate family members from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. Through the end of 2024, over 357,000 
Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans were granted parole.
    But in the end, Secretary Mayorkas' shell game doesn't end here. 
Illegal aliens are also taking advantage of a significant CBP One 
loophole which allows them to present themselves at a port of entry 
instead of scheduling an appointment via the app if they experience 
problems due to ``language barrier, illiteracy, significant technical 
failure, or other on-going and serious obstacles.'' There are also 
numerous technical and security problems with CBP One.
    Secretary Mayorkas has encouraged these aliens to make use of the 
so-called ``lawful, safe, and orderly pathways'' by using CBP One.
    Secretary Mayorkas has stated that these border policies are 
``safe, orderly, and humane'' but anyone familiar with the CBP One 
application knows that his border policies are just a racket designed 
to expedite illegal immigration into America and leave us at risk.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today.

    Mr. Higgins. I recognize the Ranking Member for his opening 
statement.
    Mr. Correa. Thank you, Chairman Higgins, for being here 
today.
    It's always important that we shoot the tires and look at 
the issues, look at what we're doing and really address and 
consider one of the most important challenges this country has 
had in a very, very long time.
    We could think about it as immigration. I look at it as 
immigration refugees, terrorist issue all rolled into one.
    CBP One is just one tool of many other tools that we have 
in the tool chest right now to address these issues.
    It's not enough, though, just to look at CBP One. We have 
to look also at the people that are actually coming to our 
ports of entry and requesting protections. We need to look at 
the totality of how the administration is addressing migration 
before people ever reach our borders. That's why I'm glad that 
the State Department could join us here today.
    Bottom line, we are witnessing today a world-wide migration 
movement like we've never seen hardly ever. Reasons: We're 
emerging from COVID, COVID that has devastated the world's 
economies. South of the border we have economies of nations 
that are essentially nonfunctional anymore.
    Of course, all of us read the newspaper headlines about 
Haiti, but there are many other headlines that I would say we 
never talk about on a daily basis, and all of those should also 
hold our attention.
    We have to look at this issue comprehensively. What's the 
challenge? What are the root causes? How to manage what I would 
call a world-wide migration of refugees. It's not only the 
United States.
    I've talked to the Columbian ambassador. I visited 
Columbia. They have 3 million Venezuelans. Costa Rica. All of 
you have heard me say this. The Costa Rican ambassador telling 
us they're struggling. They're at the breaking point with their 
refugees. Mexico, of course, as well.
    We can look at Europe as well. They have their challenges 
as well, and others around the country.
    It's not a Democrat or Republican issue. We have to work 
collectively to address these issues.
    So I am glad that, for example, myself and Congressman 
Luttrell put out a piece of legislation called the Emerging 
Innovative Border Technologies Act. Really asking the DHS to 
identify, integrate, and deploy cutting-age commercial 
technologies to improve border security.
    Mr. Chairman, and you, you and I have also worked on 
legislation together. We've got to come together and figure 
this out.
    CBP One is just one of the many tools this administration 
is employing to try to manage the border challenges.
    To be clear, under our laws, migrants have always been able 
to approach our ports of entry to ask for protection. This is 
nothing new. CBP One is just one tool that we use to manage 
this flow.
    It's not enough just to say this is a U.S. issue. It's not 
our issue. It's not Mexico's issue. It's not Canada's issue. 
It's a hemispheric issue. We've got to work with our partners, 
our friends to fix this issue because it's not going away.
    CBP One, yes. But this issue, if you go south of the 
border, again, look at those economies. Central America, South 
America. It's not going away.
    I ask all of you today to give us your thoughts. CBP One, I 
want to hear more about it. What exactly does CBP One do? My 
colleague, Chairman Higgins says it's a ticket to the United 
States. I want to know under what conditions is it a ticket 
into the United States.
    How many of those people that apply to CBP One are actually 
given that golden ticket to come to the United States? How many 
of those people that come into the United States can actually 
work or not work?
    I remember about a year, year-and-a-half ago being at the 
Tijuana border in Tijuana, San Ysidro border to look at the 
Ukrainian refugee camps that were being set up by the United 
States. I thought, this is the way to do it. Ukrainians that 
fly into Mexico, go into Tijuana, go into a baseball field that 
had been, essentially, created into a makeshift refugee center.
    Those refugees would come in. Within 48 hours they were 
processed. Pedestrian crossing west was open. They would come 
into the United States. There would be a relative or family 
that would assume financial responsibility for them. They were 
given a parole, a 2-year permit, and then they disappeared into 
the United States.
    That's one way of handling it, but I think it's a good way 
of handling it because you haven't seen that issue emerge 
again.
    So I want to thank our witnesses today for being here. I 
hope you educate us into the specifics, the details of CBP One 
and how this has become part of your toolkit, your tool chest 
to address the challenges that you have at our border.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Correa follows:]
               Statement of Ranking Member J. Luis Correa
                             March 21, 2024
    While I am encouraged by innovations like CBP One, we must 
recognize that these challenges extend well beyond our borders. It is 
not enough to look at how we are processing people who lawfully travel 
to ports of entry and request protection. We need to look at how the 
administration is addressing migration in the region before people ever 
reach our borders. That's why I'm glad that the State Department could 
join us today.
    We are witnessing a world-wide migration challenge coupled with an 
outdated and under-resourced immigration system. Only Congress can 
truly fix this for good by expanding legal pathways, investing in the 
asylum system, and providing the Department of Homeland Security, the 
Department of State, and the Department of Justice with adequate 
funding and resources. Sadly, we have not gotten to that point. 
Instead, the administration is being innovative with the resources and 
authorities they already have.
    There's more Congress can and must do to support border security 
efforts. For example, next week, Congressman Luttrell and I will be 
introducing the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act, which 
would require DHS to identify, integrate, and deploy cutting-edge 
commercial technologies to improve border security operations and 
better respond to life-threatening situations.
    I'm proud that we've been able to work across the aisle to improve 
border security in this way. I am happy to speak with any of my 
colleagues about this bipartisan piece of legislation. But we should 
also support the administration when it innovates with the tools it 
already has to improve operations at the border. CBP One is a great 
example of this.
    For years, both Democratic and Republican administrations have 
encouraged migrants go to ports of entry to ask for protection. This is 
allowed under our immigration laws. CBP One encourages migrants to not 
only go to ports of entry, but also to wait for appointments when CBP 
is prepared to process them. While there aren't enough appointments 
available to meet the demand, people prefer using a lawful avenue to 
request protection when it is a realistic option.
    CBP One isn't perfect. It's just a scheduling tool that helps CBP 
facilitate more efficient, safe, and fair migrant processing at ports 
of entry. CBP One simply allows someone to request an appointment at a 
port of entry. CBP One is not a waiver to walk into the United States 
without vetting. The app does not grant legal status or adjudicate 
asylum claims.
    And to be clear--under our laws, migrants have always been able to 
approach ports of entry to ask for protection. The CBP One app just 
makes this more efficient and allows CBP to collect advance information 
on the people presenting for an appointment. But CBP One addresses such 
a small part of the challenge before us. We should look broader.
    As I have said before, we need to continue partnering with our 
friends to the south, north, and across the globe to address the 
historic displacement of people world-wide. Shared challenges require 
shared solutions--this migration crisis affects more than just the 
United States.
    That's why, last summer, Chairman Higgins and I introduced the 
Cooperation on Combatting Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act to 
enhance partnerships with Mexican, Central American, and South American 
law enforcement to disrupt human smuggling and human trafficking in the 
region. The Biden administration has also taken significant steps to 
develop comprehensive relationships with other countries through 
multilateral agreements and cooperative action.
    The Department of State has developed Safe Mobility Offices, also 
known as regional processing centers, to share information with 
refugees and vulnerable migrants about safe and lawful pathways for 
immigration to the United States, Canada, and Spain. The administration 
has strategically located the safe mobility offices in partner 
countries in Latin America along migration routes--such as in Colombia, 
which has received millions of asylum seekers fleeing totalitarianism 
in Venezuela.
    When people have a lawful pathway to the United States, they don't 
need to pay smugglers for their journey. But even these positive steps 
are not enough. It is up to Congress to pass comprehensive immigration 
reform and approve necessary border security funding. If my colleagues 
genuinely believe that what is happening at the border is a national 
security challenge and humanitarian crisis, they should work with us to 
provide DHS with the necessary resources.
    Last, I want to thank our witnesses for their public service. I 
look forward to hearing your testimony about the work your respective 
agencies are doing to manage the challenges at the border in a humane 
and orderly way.

    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Ranking Member Correa.
    I now recognize the Chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability, the gentleman 
from North Carolina, Mr. Bishop, for his opening statement.
    Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    You know, I think I'll remark, as I open my statement, that 
I always appreciate the Ranking Member from California and the 
collegial tone of his remarks. I will say that I am going to 
articulate a point of view that, very respectfully, takes a 
different view than the comments he just offered in his opening 
statement.
    It is true that there is a lot of migration in the world 
today. A lot of that is the product of a destabilized world 
that results from the absence of strong leadership in the White 
House of the United States and grievous errors in judgment 
across the globe.
    But the inception of the dramatic change in our border 
security is extremely clear as to causation. It occurred 
immediately after the election, in the run-up to the 
inauguration, and ballooned into a historic disaster that 
continues now 4 years later in increasing proportions because 
of dramatic, 180-degree reversals of policy of administration 
of the border.
    If you are concerned about a crisis, at long last, the very 
last thing that you can do to solve the crisis is to disregard 
what you did to cause it in the first place.
    We have had many, many hearings on the global picture with 
respect to border security, and I know that there are 
differences on the respective sides of the aisle, and I have 
great respect for my colleagues. But the evidence is clear. 
Frankly, the American people understand the evidence because 
they are living it in every community.
    The snapshot on the situation today is one little part that 
has extraordinary significance in itself, but it is just one 
piece, the CBP One mobile application, something that sounds 
very hip and modern. We created an app. We gave it a catchy 
name.
    But what lies behind the app is the same sort of abuse of 
power, Executive power to make things up that are not in the 
law and to use it and to give it a role in facilitating mass 
illegal immigration into the United States.
    Since January 2023, the Department of Homeland Security has 
expanded the use of the CBP One application in two ways. 
Specifically, to implement a purposeful and determined open 
borders agenda.
    First, inadmissible aliens located in Mexico can use the 
CBP One app to schedule appointments at the Southwest Border. 
Just schedule an appointment like you're going to visit the 
doctor.
    Second, inadmissible aliens--this is one we've revealed the 
most about lately. It's been out there for a while, but the 
scale of it is becoming clear.
    Inadmissible aliens from certain countries like Cuba, 
Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua who participate in the 
Department's parole programs that abuse the limits of the 
Secretary's parole authority can use the CBP One app to request 
permission to fly from the city of origin right into cities 
throughout the United States, into U.S. airports.
    Let's hear the numbers. Let's hear them. The numbers, you 
hear people tell them. They vary slightly, but this is 
essentially the numbers.
    To date, more than 459,000 CBP One appointments have been 
scheduled at the Southwest Border ports of entry. In 2023 
alone, more than 320,000 inadmissible aliens flew into U.S. 
airports through so-called parole programs using CBP One. These 
numbers do not even count toward the over 2.8 million aliens 
crossing our borders illegally Nation-wide since January 2023, 
which was the date of the beginning of the use of CBP One for 
this human moving thing, as opposed to the commercial purpose 
it was originally designed for.
    The aliens using CBP One aren't just getting appointments, 
and they are not just hopping on flights. They are also nearly 
categorically being released into the United States.
    According to the Department's own data, from January 
through September 2023, 96 percent, Mr. Higgins said it, of 
aliens with CBP One appointments at the Southwest Border were 
released. The probability of release is just as assured as for 
those flying into airports.
    From January through June 2023, 97 percent of aliens who 
flew into a U.S. airport were paroled into the United States.
    You've heard the saying. Every State is a border State. Now 
you understand exactly--another dimension why. This is 
astonishing, considering that the Department recently admitted 
in litigation that allowing these aliens to fly into U.S. 
airports creates ``operational vulnerabilities that could be 
exploited by bad actors''.
    The administration claims that the use of the CBP One app 
will slow the flow of aliens illegally entering the United 
States and cut cartels out of the migration process.
    I remember when Secretary Mayorkas came and made that very 
claim. We're going to see--in fact, he was a little smug the 
first time he appeared to say it. The number soon overwhelmed 
all the circumstances again, and it didn't even last for long. 
So those claims belie the facts--or excuse me. The facts belie 
those claims.
    Since the CBP One expansion in January 2023, encounters of 
illegal aliens have reached monthly all-time highs, even well 
beyond the historic highs that began with the inauguration of 
the Biden administration and are on pace to reach 2 million 
again this fiscal year.
    Meanwhile, cartels are still in firm control of the 
migration process across the American border. They control the 
smuggling routes that aliens use to get to Mexico. They 
actively exploit security loopholes in CBP One to schedule 
appointments at the border. They clearly still control the 
Southwest Border, and they continue to make the U.S. Government 
the logistics arm of the international drug cartels.
    Alarmingly, data from the Department shows that aliens that 
make it to Mexico to schedule CBP One appointments at the 
Southwest Border come from what the FBI considers special 
interest countries, including Russia, China, and Iran.
    Despite the Department's claim that inadmissible aliens are 
thoroughly screened and vetted, we know that the process is 
inadequate. If an alien has a criminal record in his country of 
origin, CBP has almost no way of knowing how many of the 
approximately 750,000 aliens that have been released into this 
country under the administration's expansion of the CBP One app 
have gone on to commit acts of violence against Americans.
    The country has witnessed the tragic results of these 
programs in the recent rape of a 15-year-old child in 
Massachusetts by a Haitian allowed into the United States 
through the CHNV program.
    The American people deserve robust screening and vetting 
processes for all perspective entrants. They deserve a secure 
border, and they deserve a Federal Government that upholds its 
fundamental duty to honor the law and to protect the safety and 
security of the American people.
    With the expansion of CBP One, however, I know that the 
administration, once again, intends on only managing the public 
perception of illegal immigration instead of actually securing 
the border.
    I want to thank these witnesses for being here and to take 
our questions. I look forward to their testimony. Mr. Chairman, 
I yield back.
    [The statement of Chairman Bishop follows:]

                    Statement of Chairman Dan Bishop
                             March 21, 2024
    Good afternoon, and welcome to this joint hearing of the 
Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement and the Subcommittee on 
Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability. Today's hearing will 
examine the Department of Homeland Security's expansion of the CBP One 
mobile application and its role in facilitating mass illegal 
immigration into the United States.
   Since January 2023, the Department of Homeland Security has 
        expanded the use of the CBP One application in two ways to 
        implement its open borders agenda. First, inadmissible aliens 
        located in Mexico can use CBP One to schedule appointments at 
        the Southwest Border. Second, inadmissible aliens from certain 
        countries like Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, who 
        participate in the Department's abuse of parole programs, can 
        use CBP One to request permission to fly into U.S. airports.
   To date, more than 459,000 CBP One appointments have been 
        scheduled at the Southwest Border ports of entry. In 2023 
        alone, more than 320,000 inadmissible aliens flew into U.S. 
        airports through parole programs using CBP One. These numbers 
        don't even count toward the over 2.8 million aliens crossing 
        our borders illegally Nation-wide since January 2023.
   The aliens using CBP One aren't just getting appointments or 
        hopping on flights, they're also nearly categorically being 
        released into the United States. According to the Department's 
        own data, from January through September 2023, 96 percent of 
        aliens with CBP One appointments at the Southwest Border were 
        released. The probability of release is just as assured for 
        those flying into airports. From January through June 2023, 97 
        percent of aliens who flew into a U.S. airport were paroled 
        into the United States.
   This is astonishing considering that the Department recently 
        admitted in litigation that allowing these aliens to fly into 
        U.S. airports creates ``operational vulnerabilities that could 
        be exploited by bad actors.''
   The administration claims that the use of the CBP One app 
        will slow the flow of aliens illegally entering the United 
        States and cut cartels out of the migration process. But the 
        facts bely these claims. Since the CBP One expansion in January 
        2023, encounters of illegal aliens have reached monthly all-
        time highs and are on pace to reach 2 million again this fiscal 
        year. Meanwhile, cartels still control the migration process. 
        They control the smuggling routes that aliens use to get to 
        Mexico, they actively exploiting security loopholes through CBP 
        One, and they clearly still control the Southwest Border.
   This expanded CBP One use is not a solution to the border 
        crisis; it is a desperate attempt to solve the administration's 
        political crisis and manage the optics of a chaotic border by 
        streamlining catch-and-release policies. It is open borders 
        with the option to check in through a mobile app on a 
        smartphone.
   Alarmingly, data from the Department shows that aliens that 
        make it to Mexico to schedule CBP One appointments at the 
        Southwest Border come from what the FBI considers special 
        interest countries, including Russia, China, and Iran.
   Despite the Department's claim that inadmissible aliens are 
        thoroughly screened and vetted, we know that the process is 
        inadequate. If an alien has a criminal record in his country of 
        origin, CBP has almost no way of knowing.
   How many of the approximately 750,000 aliens that have been 
        released into the country under this administration's expansion 
        of the CBP One app have gone on to commit acts of violence 
        against Americans? The country has witnessed the tragic results 
        of these programs with the recent rape of a 15-year-old child 
        in Massachusetts by a Haitian allowed into the United States 
        through the CHNV program.
   The American people deserve robust screening and vetting 
        processes for all prospective entrants, they deserve a secure 
        border, and they deserve a Federal Government that upholds its 
        fundamental duty to protect the safety and security of the 
        American people. With the expansion of CBP One, however, I fear 
        that the administration once again intends on only managing the 
        public perception of illegal immigration instead of actually 
        securing the border.
   I want to thank our witnesses for being here today, and I 
        look forward to their testimony.

    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Chairman Bishop.
    I now recognize the Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on 
Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability, the gentleman 
from Maryland, Mr. Ivey, for his opening statement.
    Mr. Ivey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that. I 
want to thank the witnesses for appearing today.
    I also want to welcome Congressman Suozzi, our newest 
Member. I want to thank the New York voters for sending you 
here.
    I want to note, too, and you'll have a chance to speak 
about this more, that, you know, what you just said a moment 
ago, that the American people have a particular view about 
this. But the Congressman campaigned on trying to find 
bipartisan solutions to the immigration issue, to the border 
crisis, as you call it. The voters picked him, I think, in 
large part because of that.
    So congratulations and we welcome your insight. You've got 
previous experience as a Member, too. You've got more 
experience than I do as a Member, so welcome to the committee.
    I was hoping this first hearing was going to be on the 
exact issue that he ran on, which was fixing the crisis at the 
border. I was hoping that one of those fixes we could make 
would be considering the bipartisan Senate bill that took a 
comprehensive look at how to fix it.
    Whether you like everything in the bill or not isn't really 
the issue. The hope I had was that we could at least take it 
up. We could have amendments and debates and the like. You 
know, if we had to add something or take something, that's 
fine. But let's try and find a bipartisan solution to this 
issue.
    Unfortunately, that's not where we seem to be going right 
now. I think our recent history, you know, just before you got 
here, this committee spent months on the illegitimate 
impeachment of the Secretary, Mr. Mayorkas. We had hearing 
after hearing after hearing. The committee generated--the 
Republican staff generated, I don't know, several hundred pages 
of allegations and this and that.
    They swore up and down that they had to impeach him because 
that's what they needed to do to fix the problem at the border, 
and we told them at the time, (A), it was unconstitutional and 
illegitimate because they didn't even come close to meeting the 
standard of high crimes and misdemeanors. So they had to kind-
of fabricate standards.
    But, more importantly, it wouldn't change anything of 
what's going on day-to-day on the ground down there. What we 
told them at the time, and I'm continuing to say that today, is 
we need to definitely add more resources at the border. I'll be 
asking you questions about that when the time comes up.
    But the Senate bill would have added 200 CBP officers, 
increased the number of USCIS officers examining asylum claims 
by 800. We've got a supplemental proposal from the White House 
that we didn't really do much with.
    I know we've gotten testimony not only from, you know, 
witnesses at this table, but when we went to the border down in 
Texas, what was that, a few months ago, and had a chance to 
speak to them directly, they said we need more resources. We 
need more people down here.
    You know, we've got one guy covering X hundred miles of 
border. We've got people burning out. We've got people leaving 
because this is damaging to their families. They are relocating 
people to, you know, different places and the like, and they 
just don't have enough bodies to do it.
    I know there's been some conversations and, you know, even 
some hearings about adding numbers to that, but, you know, 
we're struggling to get there.
    Hopefully, the bill that's coming through, the minibus, I 
guess we're calling it, will help to address this in an 
immediate way. But we're still, you know, kind-of dragging our 
feet on that because we're focusing on the small issues instead 
of the big issues like that one.
    I also think, too, that the messages aren't just coming 
from Democrats. They're coming from the Supreme Court. Justice 
Kavanaugh--and, you know, I quoted this, his language and his 
opinion multiple times, not only in this committee but on the 
floor. But one of the things that Justice Kavanaugh wrote in 
United States v. Texas, which struck down or threw out one of 
the cases that Texas brought on this issue, and I'll do it from 
memory I guess at this point, you know, for the past 27 years 
and 5 presidencies, you know, these policies have been in 
place, the prosecutorial discretion policies, because they just 
don't have enough resources to hold everybody.
    So whoever is in charge has to make a decision about who 
gets released and who doesn't.
    Now, they complain about who gets released, and they will 
pull up cases about somebody gets released and does something 
bad and, you know, fair enough. But the only way to fix it is 
to put more resources and expand the number of people who can 
address the problem. That would include, for example, judges, 
dramatically increasing the number of judges who can hear these 
cases so it doesn't take 6 or 7 years. Maybe take 6 or 7 
months.
    If we start turning people back quicker, then that might be 
one way to address this problem, too, and send the message back 
that you don't just get to come here and stay for 6 years. But 
we haven't made much headway on that with my colleagues on the 
other side either.
    I just want to make this--read this comment from Senator 
Lankford. He's one of the individuals who led the crafting of 
the bipartisan Senate bill. He's a Republican from Oklahoma and 
had been viewed as a very conservative member up until he came 
out with this bill. Former President Trump sort-of vilified him 
for that. You know, the Speaker and some of the House 
Republican colleagues got in step with that.
    But here's what he said: Welcome to governance. You can do 
a partisan bill in the House. But in the Senate, we have to 
look at each other across the aisle and then figure out a way 
to be able to solve this.
    So I'm hoping that we can prove him wrong at some point, 
that we will get to a point here in the House where we decide 
we really want to try and do something and solve this.
    I know we've had bills considered here in the committee 
before. My recollection from one of those markups was I think 
every amendment the Democrats offered was rejected on a party 
line vote, if I recall correctly. I think you might have got 
something done on the floor, but other than that.
    Then during the impeachment hearing, they rejected all of 
the amendments on the party line vote up until they got tired 
of hearing them. Then they just summarily dismissed like 30 of 
the amendments. We didn't have a chance to vote on them.
    So I'm hoping we can move away from that approach and get 
to the point where we're actually considering trying to work 
together. I feel like I've been able to do that with some of my 
colleagues on the other side.
    Congressman Bishop, I think we've been able to do hearings 
together in a way that's been, in my view, bipartisan. We've 
been able to, you know, address those issues. We don't agree on 
everything but at least we hash it out.
    I'm hoping that we can get there on this issue, too, 
because it's too important to the American people to just keep 
letting it drift off and, you know, for these political 
reasons.
    So with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Ranking Member Ivey.
    I now recognize the Chairman of the whole committee, the 
Committee on Homeland Security, Chairman Green, for his opening 
statement.
    Chairman Green. Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate you 
letting me sit in on your committee, both of you. And the 
Ranking Members, I appreciate them. I have deep respect for all 
of the folks who sit on this committee on both sides of the 
aisle. A lot of long nights have happened, mark-ups. We've got 
a mark-up coming up here pretty soon that should be a little 
easier with some bills from both sides.
    But I do want to take issue, though, with some of the 
things that have been said today. This notion about a historic 
migration crisis. I tend to agree with Mr. Bishop. You can 
trace the causation of this. There's a massive shift in policy.
    There have been no significant increase in weather events 
in Latin America. Their GDP has actually increased, so you can 
blame COVID if you want to, but since COVID, their GDPs have 
all gone up. It's not an issue of COVID causing the issue, 
certainly not now.
    It really pushes reason to suggest that it's not--because 
we just completely did away with any constraints and created 
incredible incentives. If you come, you just get released into 
the country. People tested the system. They called home and 
mass waves came. It's quite simple.
    I mean, if it was an asylum issue, you get out of your 
country. You're in the next country. You're safe. But they 
don't do that. They keep coming. It's not that issue.
    It's not an issue of just Latin America. I mean, we're 
talking 160 countries encountered at the Southwest Border. The 
notion that it might be because people have different color 
skin, that's just crazy, because when I was there, there were a 
huge group of Russians coming through.
    It's funny. We want to block Russians from going into 
Ukraine, but we seem to want to welcome them into the United 
States if they fill out the CBP app. It doesn't make a lot of 
sense to me, but it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to 80 
percent of the Americans, too, if you poll them right now.
    In terms of the conduct of the committee recently and 
whether or not we should have impeached our first sitting 
Cabinet Secretary in the history of the country, you know, I've 
made my position very clear on this. The law is the law. The 
Constitution is the Constitution.
    The Constitution says Congress writes the laws and the 
Executive branch executes them. You can look at all the 
previous impeachments in the past. Every single one of them 
basically made the argument that the Executive branch didn't 
get to pick which ones they wanted to enforce and which ones 
they didn't.
    That brings us to this discussion about CBP One. This thing 
was designed for Customs, to get trade-in. I love Mr. Correa's 
comments on this. He's been really on top of how we need to 
facilitate the trade. I appreciate, in previous committee 
hearings, how you've really pushed that issue, and I liked CBP 
One for that.
    But making it a blanket automatic parole is against the 
law. Shall detain. That's what the law says. It's interesting. 
The law doesn't say to DAs across the country, you shall 
capture every murderer, but it does say you shall detain 
everybody who comes in that has a felony conviction.
    Mr. Mayorkas was very clear. No, you don't have to do that, 
employees of DHS, despite what the law says.
    We can't have Cabinet Secretaries who just get to make it 
up on their own. That's not what the Constitution--our 
founders, they spread power out and that's how we get freedom. 
But a rogue Cabinet Secretary who just gets to make up and do 
whatever he wants because he doesn't like the current system, 
that's just not how the Constitution is set up.
    So should we pass some laws and fix these issues? Yes, we 
should. I would love to fix immigration law. The problem is 
we've got an unsecure border. It's like an arterial bleed. Nine 
million people.
    I mean, just think of the teachers we've had to add in the 
country, if we want a 35-to-1 ratio, that's about 15,000 
teachers for this number of kids that have come in. Where are 
we going to get those in the blink of an eye? It's untenable.
    Of course, the crime and stuff that's associated with it 
when the cartels take advantage of this mass migration wave 
created by the change and the paradigm shift, that's the reason 
for it.
    So I think getting to the bottom of just how the CBP One 
app is being used is very important. I think it's critical, 
actually, because these particularly special privileges being 
provided to countries without there being any law passed on 
that needs to be deeply delved into.
    I appreciate both Chairmen for putting this committee 
hearing together, and I look forward to hearing from our 
witnesses.
    I yield.
    [The statement of Chairman Green follows:]

                Statement of Chairman Mark E. Green, MD
                             March 21, 2024
    I would like to first thank Chairman Higgins and Chairman Bishop 
for holding this important hearing, today. The Department of Homeland 
Security's unlawful use of the CBP One app to mass-parole hundreds of 
thousands of inadmissible aliens into the United States has now 
magnified the serious nature of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas' 
self-imposed border crisis. Rather than instructing the Department of 
Homeland Security to deter illegal immigration and foreign threats 
abroad, Secretary Mayorkas has created incentives to invite them in. I 
hope that today's hearing will shed light on the administration's true 
intent for the CBP One app--which is to grant just about anyone in the 
world parole into the United States.
    The original purpose of the app under President Trump was to 
streamline the flow of legal commercial cargo for legitimate trade. 
However, under Secretary Mayorkas, it has become a means to streamline 
mass migration for mostly inadmissible aliens.
    This expansion of the radical, open-borders agenda provides just 
about any foreign national, including inadmissible aliens without 
proper documents, almost guaranteed parole.
    The Biden administration has made it crystal clear that they want 
them here and they are using CBP One for this purpose. While the 
administration touts their immigration policies as being ``safe and 
humane'' for migrants, they are forgetting that their duty is to 
protect Americans and prioritize homeland security above all else. I am 
confident that this committee will not let this administration forget 
that.
    Even more startling is that in January alone, the Department of 
Homeland Security processed over 45,000 inadmissible aliens into the 
country using the CBP One app. Not to mention that between January 2023 
and the end of January 2024, approximately half-a-million inadmissible 
aliens ``successfully scheduled appointments'' with Customs and Border 
Protection. Of the half a million--how many were paroled into our 
country?
    Which leads us to question the Department's rampant misuse of 
parole. By law, parole should only be used on a case-by-case basis. The 
Secretary's use of parole is a perfect illustration of the abuse of 
authority that this administration is trying to get away with.
    Secretary Mayorkas has taken his ill-conceived interpretation of 
parole and has perverted it to accelerate the mass entry of aliens 
through his Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan, or CHNV, and 
Family Reunification parole programs. Thousands of foreign nationals 
are receiving pre-authorized travel from abroad to arrive at any U.S. 
airport of their choosing. Why is Secretary Mayorkas flying 
inadmissible aliens in? Make no mistake, this was by design.
    Well, I've got news for you. The committee is watching. America is 
watching. Secretary Mayorkas' illegal use of CBP One to undermine our 
border and facilitate chaos is nothing more than a smoke screen.
    Under the guise of ``law and order,'' the Department is using CBP 
One to simply shuffle illegal aliens through the Southwest Border and 
disguising these unlawful border crossings as legal entries.
    As the committee seeks to gain insight about CBP One's expansion, 
its intended purpose, and capabilities, from the witnesses before us 
here today, I would like to ask everyone in the room to think about 
this: Who is ultimately benefiting from this app? The migrants? The 
cartels? And does this make us safer? The answer is clearly ``no.''
    The administration's utter refusal to secure our borders is once 
again on full display. With that, I yield back the balance of my time 
and look forward to hearing from our witnesses.

    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields.
    Other Members of the committee are reminded that opening 
statements may be submitted for the record.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:]

             Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
                             March 21, 2024
    I am pleased the subcommittees are examining the Biden-Harris 
administration's efforts to address increased rates of migration to the 
U.S. Southwest Border in a humane and effective way. We are currently 
seeing increased rates of migration across the world, with the United 
States and our neighbors being no exception.
    However, the solution to this challenge is not to repeat the cruel 
policies of the Trump administration, which oversaw the separation of 
families at the border and limited legal immigration pathways, leaving 
vulnerable populations in danger. Instead, President Biden has taken a 
proactive approach to combatting the root causes of migration in the 
Western Hemisphere while ensuring that there is an orderly and safe 
process for those who are making their case for admission under our 
laws.
    The administration has worked to foster cooperative agreements with 
regional partners in the Western Hemisphere to address the political, 
economic, security, and environmental conditions that lead to irregular 
migration. This increased collaboration with Mexico and other countries 
in Central and South America helps the United States provide accurate 
information for those considering making the dangerous journey north 
and instead encourage the use of legal immigration pathways.
    One of the key components of the Department of Homeland Security's 
efforts to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful and safe pathways is 
the CBP One app. This app allows migrants to schedule an appointment to 
present themselves at a port of entry, preventing the kind of chaos and 
dysfunction at the border seen during the Trump administration. Over 
the last year, more than 450,000 individuals have successfully used the 
app to schedule appointments at ports of entry, which creates an 
orderly and humane process for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
address those who seek entry into the country.
    The app has also been used to facilitate humanitarian parole 
programs for those fleeing emergency situations in their home countries 
of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. These are the same types of 
parole programs prior administrations have used, which have proven to 
be effective in reducing the number of migrants seeking to cross 
between ports of entry.
    The CBP One app is not a rubber stamp to any noncitizen that seeks 
entry; it merely serves as a scheduling tool, providing logistical 
support for migrants and CBP alike. Those who use it are still subject 
to the same screening and vetting that CBP uses to evaluate anyone else 
seeking entry into the country. But the orderly processing helps ease 
the burden on often overworked CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents 
and maximize CBP resources.
    The success of the app demonstrates that most migrants will use 
safe, orderly, and humane pathways to make their case for admittance 
into the United States if given the option, rather than trying to cross 
illegally. CBP continues to work on improvements to the app, addressing 
any security vulnerabilities and ensuring that migrants who have been 
trying to obtain appointments for the longest time will be prioritized.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how this 
committee can support the administration's efforts to address migration 
challenges with legal pathways, technological solutions, and 
international collaboration.

    Mr. Higgins. I'm pleased to welcome our panel of witnesses. 
I, again, apologize that there was delay getting started, but 
we appreciate your patience.
    I ask that our witnesses please rise and raise your right 
hand.
    [Witnesses sworn.]
    Mr. Higgins. Let the record reflect that the witnesses have 
answered in the affirmative.
    Thank you all. Please be seated.
    I would like to now formally introduce our witnesses.
    Mr. Adam Hunter is the deputy assistant secretary for 
immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security. He 
was appointed on January 20, 2021.
    Mr. Hunter has more than 15 years experience in migration, 
national security, and international affairs issues. Before 
assuming his role at DHS, he was the executive director of 
Refugee Council USA, an organization working to protect and 
welcome refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced 
populations.
    During a previous tenure in government, Mr. Hunter served 
as acting chief of staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services and held other agency leadership and program 
management roles.
    Our next witness is Ms. Diane Sabatino. She's the acting 
executive assistant commissioner of the Office of Field 
Operations within the United States Customs and Border 
Protection.
    As the senior official for the Office of Field Operations, 
Ms. Sabatino is responsible for overseeing the operations of 20 
major field offices, 328 ports of entry, and over 70 locations 
in over 40 countries internationally.
    She leads more than 32,000 employees and oversees an annual 
operating budget of $7.5 billion.
    Ms. Sabatino previously served as a deputy executive 
assistant commissioner in the Office of Field Operations.
    Our next witness is Ms. Tammy Meckley. She is the associate 
director for Immigration Records and Identity Services 
Directorate at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
    Ms. Meckley began her role as associate director in 
February 2015. In this role, she manages the e-verify and 
Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, the SAVE 
program.
    She oversees the largest FOIA program in the Federal 
Government and leads USCIS' e-processing initiative, which 
connects previously separate technology systems within the 
agency to improve decision timeliness, increase transparency 
during the application process, and accelerate the availability 
of on-line filing for all immigration benefits.
    Our next witness is Ms. Marta Youth. She is the principal 
deputy assistant secretary for the Department of State's Bureau 
of Population, Refugees, and Migration. She joined the Bureau 
of Population, Refugees, and Migration as a deputy assistant 
secretary in November 2020.
    Ms. Youth oversees the Office of the Executive Director, 
the Office of International Migration, and the Office of 
Assistance for Western Hemisphere.
    Ms. Youth was previously the director of Central American 
affairs and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere affairs. Ms. Youth 
has been a foreign service officer for more than 25 years and 
is a member of the senior foreign service.
    I thank the witnesses for being here today. The witnesses' 
full statements will appear in the record.
    I now recognize Mr. Hunter for 5 minutes to summarize his 
opening statement.

   STATEMENT OF ADAM HUNTER, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 
IMMIGRATION POLICY, OFFICE OF STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS, U.S. 
                DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

    Mr. Hunter. Thank you, Chairman Higgins, Ranking Member 
Correa, Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Ivey, and Chairman 
Green. I appreciate the opportunity to be here and discuss the 
Department of Homeland Security's efforts to carry out its 
statutory border security enforcement missions.
    At our Southwest Border, we continue to experience the 
impacts of global trends that have been building for many 
years. Violence, food insecurity, severe poverty, corruption, 
climate change, and, more recently, the fallout of the COVID-19 
pandemic have all contributed to a significant increase in 
displacement around the world.
    These conditions drive unprecedented movements of people in 
our own hemisphere, too, where failing authoritarian regimes in 
Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, along with a worsening security 
in humanitarian crisis in Haiti, exacerbate conditions, and 
smugglers and cartels are all too eager to put migrants' lives 
at risk for profit.
    You will hear more from my State Department colleague about 
these drivers, as well as the administration's comprehensive 
hemispheric approach to reduce irregular migration in 
collaboration with partner governments in the region.
    For DHS's part, we execute upon a two-part strategy to 
reduce irregular migration by strengthening consequences for 
individuals who cross the border unlawfully while also 
expanding lawful pathways and processes to incentivize use of 
safe and orderly alternatives to irregular migration.
    From our enhanced use of expedited removal, our increased 
removals and returns of individuals without a legal basis to 
remain in the country, to the circumvention of lawful pathways 
rule and other efforts, we are imposing serious consequences 
for unlawful entry.
    Through the expansion of lawful pathways and processes, 
including the CHNV parole processes and scheduling through the 
CBP One app at the border, we provide alternatives to irregular 
migration. Taken together, DHS has changed the calculus for 
migrants and further disincentivize the irregular journey, 
which often includes putting their lives in the hands of 
smugglers.
    Our efforts have yielded positive results. Between 
returning to full Title 8 processing enforcement on May 12, 
2023, to now, DHS has removed or returned more than 630,000 
individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the Southwest 
Border.
    Put another way, our removals and returns over the last 10-
month period alone exceeds each and every full fiscal year 
total going back to 2013.
    Border encounters are also lower this quarter with 
encounters of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan 
nationals all notably below their peaks.
    Consequences are, however, not sufficient to deter 
irregular migration alone. To be most effective, the 
consequences we enforce must be paired with incentives for 
migrants to use safe, orderly, and lawful processes.
    The CBP One application specifically was first deployed in 
October 2020. Over time, new functionalities have been added. 
The app itself is not a pathway. Rather, it is an operational 
tool that supports CBP processes and services.
    The CBP One functionality used by noncitizens along the 
Southwest Border is limited to a scheduling function of an 
appointment. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
codified under Title 8 of the U.S. Code, the Department is 
required to inspect noncitizens who present at a port of entry 
within the United States.
    The app is, therefore, for us an important tool for 
managing the border, more efficiently processing those who 
present, and safely and orderly carrying out DHS's 
responsibilities under law.
    By allowing individuals to directly schedule an appointment 
from central to northern Mexico, the CBP One app effectively 
cuts out smugglers, decreases migrant exploitation, and 
improves safety and security. More than 500,000 noncitizens 
have successfully scheduled an appointment.
    As my colleague from U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
will discuss, CBP's inspection, screening and vetting, 
processing at ports, and releases on parole from our custody 
have occurred under prior administrations and exist under our 
existing Title 8 authorities.
    DHS continues to deliver strength and consequences for 
noncitizens who do not establish a lawful basis to remain in 
the United States, while simultaneously offering safe and 
orderly processes for noncitizens at our ports of entry.
    I'm proud to work alongside the dedicated 260,000 employees 
who make up DHS throughout its headquarters and operational 
components. The Department remains eager to work with this 
committee and other Congressional leaders on a bipartisan basis 
to update the United States' framework and provide for durable 
solutions.
    In the mean time, DHS will utilize every tool currently at 
its disposal and within its authority to security the border 
and create a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to 
your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hunter follows:]

                   Prepared Statement of Adam Hunter
                             March 21, 2024
                              introduction
    Chairman Higgins, Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Correa, and 
Ranking Member Ivey, and distinguished Members of the subcommittees: I 
appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the 
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS or Department) efforts to carry 
out its statutory border security and enforcement mission, including by 
efficiently inspecting, vetting, and processing noncitizens who present 
for admission at Southwest Border ports of entry (POE).
    I have served the Department as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Immigration Policy since January 20, 2021. I am proud to work alongside 
the 260,000 employees who make up DHS, including those represented by 
leadership from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) here today.
    Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as codified under Title 
8 of the U.S. Code, the Department is required to inspect noncitizens 
who present at a POE within the United States seeking admission into 
the country. Those inspections, as well as the processing decisions 
that flow from them, are executed under Title 8 authorities. As a law 
enforcement agency, DHS follows the law.
    In full recognition of the requirement to inspect and process 
individuals under Title 8, and in furtherance of its mission to secure 
the Nation's borders, even as historically high migrant arrivals have 
overstretched DHS's limited resources, DHS has taken innovative steps 
to disincentivize irregular migration and minimize the risk of human 
smuggling. Core to these efforts is a two-part strategy to 
simultaneously (1) expand the availability of safe, orderly, and lawful 
pathways and processes to come to the United States, and (2) strictly 
enforce our Nation's immigration laws by imposing consequences on 
individuals who do not avail themselves of safe, orderly, and lawful 
pathways and processes. These tandem efforts increase security and 
better utilize limited law enforcement resources.
                             global trends
    There are more people displaced throughout the world today than at 
any time since World War II. Violence, food insecurity, severe poverty, 
corruption, climate change, the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 
dire economic conditions have all contributed to a significant increase 
in irregular migration around the globe. In the Western Hemisphere, 
failing authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, along 
with an on-going security and humanitarian crisis in Haiti, have driven 
millions of people from those countries to leave their homes; further, 
these countries' uncooperative governments or unstable reception 
conditions make it difficult to impose enforcement consequences on 
unlawful entry due to the severe restrictions we have on our ability to 
return their nationals.
    Increased encounters at our border are a direct result of global 
trends that have been building for many years. Historically, encounters 
along the Southwest Border in the 1980's and 1990's consisted 
overwhelmingly of single adults from Mexico who were migrating for 
economic reasons and regularly crossed back and forth across the 
border. Until the early 2000's, encounters routinely numbered more than 
1 million a year. In the early 2010's, following 3 decades of 
bipartisan border security investments, encounters reached modern lows, 
averaging fewer than 400,000 per year from 2011 to 2017. However, even 
during this period, DHS faced significant situational surges in 
migration by, for example, unaccompanied children in 2014, and family 
units in 2016. Between 2017 and 2019 alone, encounters along the 
Southwest Border more than doubled, and--following a significant drop 
during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down cross-
border movements around the world and depressed global migration--
encounters continued to increase in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
                              dhs efforts
    In response to these global migration trends, DHS has taken a 
number of innovative steps that seek to change the calculus for 
intending migrants, including before they even begin an irregular 
migration journey. These measures include strengthened consequences for 
individuals who cross the border unlawfully, while significantly 
expanding lawful pathways to incentivize noncitizens to use safe and 
orderly processes to come to the United States without having to put 
their lives in the hands of smugglers for an arduous and dangerous 
irregular journey.
    These efforts and others have collectively yielded results: since 
the expiration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 
(CDC) public health order under Title 42 on May 12, 2023, to March 6, 
2024, DHS removed or returned nearly 600,000 individuals, the vast 
majority having recently crossed the Southwest Border. Nearly 100,000 
of those removed or returned were traveling in family units. The 
majority of all individuals DHS encountered along the Southwest Border 
over the past 3 years were removed, returned, or expelled. In just the 
past 10 months alone, DHS has exceeded the full-year total number of 
individuals removed and returned during each fiscal year since 2013.
    The CBP One mobile application was deployed in October 2020 to 
serve as a single portal to a variety of CBP services, with early 
functionality supporting trade and cargo facilitation. As functionality 
has been added, the CBP One mobile application provides increased 
accessibility to some of CBP's most utilized services. The CBP One 
mobile application has been key to supporting several of the 
Department's efforts to incentivize use of lawful pathways and 
processes. However, the mobile application itself is not a lawful 
pathway; rather it is a technological tool that supports CBP processes.
    The CBP One functionality used by noncitizens along the Southwest 
Border is limited to scheduling an appointment to present at 1 of 8 
designated POEs. Unlike the supporter-initiated parole processes, a 
noncitizen can schedule an appointment on their own, and seek to 
present oneself for inspection at a land POE. This scheduling 
function--announced as part of new border enforcement measures on 
January 5, 2023--is an important tool to maintain a safe and orderly 
process for managing the border and more efficiently processing those 
who present at a POE, consistent with CBP and the Department's 
statutory responsibilities.
    Prior to this, similar CBP One scheduling functionality was 
utilized for noncitizens seeking a humanitarian exception from the 
CDC's public health order under Title 42 of the U.S. Code. Upon 
expiration of that public health order, DHS resumed processing all 
noncitizens presenting for admission at a POE under Title 8 
authorities. As noted earlier, Title 8 requires DHS personnel to 
inspect noncitizens who present at a POE within the United States 
seeking admission into the country. The scheduling function was 
expanded to provide a mechanism in which any noncitizen located in 
Central and Northern Mexico could seek to schedule an appointment to 
present at a POE at a pre-scheduled time. This allows migrants to avoid 
needing to congregate at or near POEs for hours or days on end, and 
allows DHS to more efficiently prepare for the orderly processing of 
arriving migrants.
    Importantly, CBP One is used only as a scheduling tool. The 
application is not a tool to request parole. It is not a tool to claim 
asylum, nor is it used to screen, inspect, or process noncitizens for 
entry to the United States. The tool simply allows individuals of any 
nationality who are in Central or Northern Mexico to schedule an 
appointment to present themselves at a designated land POE. The advance 
biographic and biometric information individuals provide in CBP One to 
secure their appointment allows CBP to streamline its screening and 
vetting processes at the border. The efficiency gained by noncitizens' 
use of the CBP One scheduling function has allowed CBP to significantly 
expand its capacity to process noncitizens more efficiently at land 
POEs on the Southwest Border compared to pre-pandemic processing.
    By allowing individuals to directly schedule an appointment, the 
CBP One app effectively cuts out the smugglers, decreases migrant 
exploitation, and improves safety and security in addition to making 
the process more efficient. The tool itself is available in English, 
Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and CBP has published reference guides in 
9 additional languages. Because CBP One is available across Central and 
Northern Mexico, it removes the need for noncitizens to congregate in 
and around border towns, where they can often be subject to 
manipulation by bad actors who seek to exploit them for profit. 
Transnational criminal organizations encourage and facilitate these 
migratory flows, spreading disinformation about what individuals will 
encounter along the route, at our border, and once in the United 
States, so they can exploit migrants as part of a billion-dollar 
criminal enterprise. The increasing role that drug cartels are playing 
in human smuggling throughout the region is particularly concerning 
given their complete disregard for human life, which has led to 
tragedies in the United States, Mexico, and many other countries.
    Since the launch of its scheduling functionality on January 18, 
2023, through the end February 2024, more than 501,000 noncitizens have 
successfully scheduled an appointment to present in a safe and orderly 
manner at a designated POE through the CBP One app. When a noncitizen 
presents at a POE within the United States seeking admission into the 
country, they are inspected and processed by a CBP officer. During 
inspection, the CBP officer determines an appropriate processing 
disposition, including but not limited to, initiating removal 
proceedings by issuing a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge, 
and considering, on a case-by-case basis, whether to grant parole for 
urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. When 
exercising such discretion, the CBP officer considers a variety of 
factors, including, but not limited to, the nature of the noncitizen's 
inadmissibility, any humanitarian or public interest considerations 
relevant at the time of inspection, any previous apprehensions, 
previous grants of discretion, and the noncitizen's intended purpose 
for seeking entry into the United States. Noncitizens who are 
determined to pose a national security or public safety threat, or who 
otherwise do not warrant parole as a matter of officer discretion, will 
not be authorized a grant of parole and may be detained pending further 
processing. Such factors are considered both for noncitizens presenting 
with CBP One appointments at a POE, and for those without a CBP One 
appointment. These factors and available processing dispositions under 
our longstanding Title 8 authorities also predate the use of CBP One.
    CBP One is also used as a second step in the workflow of certain 
parole processes, like those available to nationals of Cuba, Haiti, 
Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members. For the 
parole processes, only after a noncitizen's U.S.-based supporter has 
been confirmed by USCIS would the noncitizen beneficiary receive 
instructions to submit certain information through the CBP One 
application to be vetted and considered for travel authorization. If 
authorized, the beneficiary may travel to an air POE and seek a 
discretionary grant of parole by CBP on a case-by-case basis.
    CBP One is just one tool in broader DHS efforts to incentivize 
migrants to use safe and orderly processes and disincentivize attempts 
at irregular or unlawful entry to the United States. In addition, DHS 
has continued to implement the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule. 
Its provisions incentivize migrants to use the lawful, safe, and 
orderly processes that DHS has established and disincentivize dangerous 
border crossings by placing a common-sense condition on asylum 
eligibility for those individuals who fail to do so, and who do not 
otherwise qualify for an exception.
    Under the rule, individuals who circumvent the expanded lawful, 
safe, and orderly pathways or processes into the United States--to 
include, but not limited to, the use of the CBP One mobile app to 
schedule a time and place to present at a POE--and also fail to seek 
protection in a country through which they traveled on their way to the 
United States, are subject to a rebuttable presumption of asylum 
ineligibility in the United States unless they meet specified 
exceptions. Individuals who cannot establish a valid claim to 
protection under the standards set out in the rule are subject to 
prompt removal under Title 8 authorities, which carries at least a 5-
year bar to admission to the United States and the potential to be 
criminally prosecuted for repeated unlawful entry.
                               conclusion
    DHS remains vigilant and will continue to deliver the strengthened 
consequences that have been put in place at the border for noncitizens 
who do not establish a lawful basis to remain in the United States, 
while simultaneously offering safe and orderly processes for 
noncitizens at our POEs. However, we recognize that the underlying 
conditions prompting historic migration across the Western Hemisphere 
remain, and smugglers will continue to weaponize disinformation to put 
migrants' lives at risk for profit.
    We have demonstrated our commitment to work innovatively within our 
statutory authorities, and using the resources made available by 
Congress, to address the challenges we are facing at our border and in 
the region. I strongly urge Congress to act on the bipartisan bill that 
was presented in the Senate. This bill, if passed into law, would be 
the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we've had 
in decades. It will make our country safer, make our border more 
secure, and treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal 
immigration, consistent with our values as a Nation. It would deliver 
much-needed resources to support and expand the DHS workforce after 
decades of chronic underfunding and builds on this administration's 
approach of applying strengthened consequences for those who cross the 
border unlawfully, while making available safe and orderly pathways for 
those who qualify.
    The Department remains eager to work with this committee and other 
Congressional leaders, on a bipartisan basis, to update the United 
States' immigration framework, including by modernizing the asylum 
system. Until Congress makes changes only Congress can make, DHS will 
continue to utilize every tool currently at its disposal and within 
DHS's authorities to secure the border and create a safe, orderly, and 
humane immigration system.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your 
questions.

    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Hunter.
    I now recognize Ms. Sabatino for 5 minutes to summarize her 
opening statement.

  STATEMENT OF DIANE J. SABATINO, ACTING EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 
  COMMISSIONER, OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS, U.S. CUSTOMS AND 
                       BORDER PROTECTION

    Ms. Sabatino. Good afternoon, Chairman Higgins, Ranking 
Member Correa, Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Ivey, and 
distinguished Members of the subcommittees. It's an honor to 
testify today and discuss U.S. Customs and Border Protection's 
use of mobile technology to modernize operations at our ports 
of entry as part of CBP's critical mission to secure our 
borders and facilitate lawful travel and trade.
    I'm proud to represent the more than 32,000 dedicated 
personnel of CBP's Office of Field Operations, commonly 
referred to as OFO, who work tirelessly every day across 328 
ports of entry to protect our border, our homeland, and our 
communities.
    We must balance complex mission sets, including 
encountering inadmissible persons, facilitating lawful travel 
and trade, and combating criminal smuggling. Innovative 
technology has always been a critical aspect of our efforts to 
increase security, streamline and modernize processes, and 
improve stakeholder experiences.
    Since its deployment in October 2020, the CBP One mobile 
application has served as a single portal to a variety of CBP 
services. CBP One is a secure and flexible platform that 
effectively and efficiently supports multiple OFO enforcement 
processes and stakeholder services as part of our long-standing 
security and facilitation operations.
    For instance, the app has a role in the Department of 
Homeland Security processes, such as for Cubans, Haitians, 
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, commonly referred to as CHNV.
    Subsequent to sponsor, screening, and vetting with U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services, noncitizens may apply for 
advanced travel authorization from CBP through an automated 
process and will undergo biometric and biographic screening.
    The app streamlines this process by performing multiple 
systems checks, freeing officers from time-consuming manual 
data entry, and allows officers to focus on their important 
vetting activities, as well as other mission priorities at 
ports of entry.
    All individuals are vetted against law enforcement 
holdings, which includes the watch list, text, which is a 
comprehensive records database, travel data, criminal records, 
NCIC, and information provided by our U.S. Government and 
international law enforcement partners.
    The app also provides a scheduling function enabling 
noncitizens located in central and northern Mexico to submit 
advance information and make an appointment to present 
themselves at a specified land border port of entry for 
inspection and processing. This replaced a manual process that 
had previously been coordinated with NGO's.
    The app increases security by enabling the submission of 
advance information that assists officers in identifying bad 
actors and preparing questions before an individual arrives at 
the border. This streamlines the inspection process tying data 
together, which directly supports our CBP officers during their 
inspections.
    Without advance information provided through the app, 
processing at the Southwest Border ports of entry would divert 
officers from other mission priorities, like interdicting 
illicit narcotics, such as fentanyl, conducting important 
outbound operations, looking for weapons and currency, and 
processing legitimate trade and travel, which directly supports 
our economy.
    The app is a valuable tool for modernizing and improving 
processes, but in no way does the technology replace the 
experience and expertise of a CBP officer. On-line citizens who 
arrive at a port of entry are inspected by a CBP officer. Our 
officers verify the identity, nationality, citizenship, and 
stated intent for entry of individuals, review law enforcement 
systems for prior immigration encounters or criminal history, 
and interview the individual.
    The integration of CBP One is part of our comprehensive 
border management operations, provides the best information 
possible to our CBP officers, which allows our officers to do 
what they do best, which is talking to people to determine 
intent and increase situational awareness.
    We facilitate the flow of trillions of dollars in 
legitimate cargo every year while enforcing hundreds of trade 
laws to protect American businesses and consumers. At the same 
time, we are facilitating growing volumes of international 
travel across all of our international operating environments.
    The efficiencies, such as the collection of advance 
information, strengthens the security of our borders and 
enhances our ability to address irregular migration challenges 
without compromising our missions, including, again, 
interdicting illicit drugs and facilitating the flow of 
legitimate trade and travel to ensure continued National and 
economic security.
    I appreciate the subcommittee's continued support of our 
mission, as well as our work force, and I look forward to your 
questions.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Sabatino follows:]

                Prepared Statement of Diane J. Sabatino
                             March 21, 2024
                              introduction
    Chairman Higgins, Ranking Member Correa, Chairman Bishop, Ranking 
Member Ivey, and Members of the subcommittees, thank you for the 
opportunity to discuss U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) use 
of mobile technology to support and facilitate inspection and 
processing operations at U.S. ports of entry (POEs) as part of our 
critical mission to secure our borders and facilitate lawful trade and 
travel. I am honored to represent the dedicated men and women of CBP's 
Office of Field Operations (OFO) who operate on the front lines to 
ensure our national and economic security.
    OFO is responsible for securing the Nation's borders while 
facilitating lawful trade and travel at POEs, which includes the 
inspection of all arriving noncitizens seeking admission into the 
United States.
    The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the March 2020 
implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 
(CDC) public health order,\1\ commonly referred to as the Title 42 
Order, transformed the Southwest Border (SWB) environment and 
significantly altered CBP's operations. From March 20, 2020, at 11:59 
p.m. ET, until the order ended at 11:59 p.m. ET on May 11, 2023, with 
the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency, CBP expelled 
noncitizens subject to the Title 42 Order, which suspended the 
introduction into the United States of certain noncitizens arriving at 
land and adjacent coastal borders, to protect against the spread of 
COVID-19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ March 20, 2020, CDC Order under Sections 362 & 365 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265, 268): Order Suspending 
Introduction of Certain Persons from Countries Where a Communicable 
Disease Exists. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/CDC-Order-
Prohibiting-Introduction-of-Persons_Final_3-20-20_3-p.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As a critical component of the whole-of-Government planning effort 
led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over 18 months,\2\ CBP 
made numerous preparations for the end of the Title 42 Order. These 
measures included, but were not limited to, deployment and development 
of new technology to improve processing efficiencies and security, and 
coordination with our Federal, State, local, international, and non-
governmental partners.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ This comprehensive approach was outlined in the DHS Plan for 
Southwest Border Security and Preparedness issued in April 2022 and 
updated in December 2022. See https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/05/01/fact-
sheet-update-dhs-planning-southwest-border-security-measures-title-42-
public.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    After the end of the Title 42 Order, with new resources, 
technologies, and processes in place, CBP has resumed applying its full 
range of immigration authorities under Title 8 of the U.S. Code to 
process all noncitizens encountered at the border, as we have done 
throughout our agency's history. These authorities provide for 
meaningful consequences for inadmissible noncitizens, to include 
placing individuals in expedited removal or other immigration removal 
proceedings, as well as subjecting individuals to a minimum 5-year bar 
on reapplying for admission and potential criminal prosecution if they 
subsequently re-enter without authorization.
    Since well before the COVID-19 pandemic, OFO had been advancing its 
use of technology to improve service delivery and customer experience. 
Prior to the incorporation of technology, many of OFO's inspection and 
facilitation processes required manually intensive procedures by CBP 
officers and stakeholders. Processes often required lengthy transaction 
times to allow officers to manually input data, such as biographical 
information, carrying an increased risk of data errors, and diverting 
officers from devoting their time and focus to critical security 
functions.
    The development and deployment of innovative technology has always 
been a critical component of OFO's efforts to increase security, 
streamline processes, and improve stakeholder experience. CBP continues 
to invest in technology that standardizes, automates, and enhances 
manual processes and services by making them more efficient, accurate, 
and secure.
    Since its deployment in October 2020, the CBP One mobile 
application has served as a single portal to a variety of CBP 
services.\3\ As part of CBP's comprehensive effort to strengthen the 
security of our Nation's borders while enhancing legitimate trade, CBP 
One provides increased accessibility to some of CBP's most utilized 
services and is an important tool to help CBP provide a safe, orderly, 
and humane mechanism for managing the border.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ https://www.cbp.gov/about/mobile-apps-directory/cbpone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For that reason, CBP operationalized technology, specifically the 
CBP One mobile application, to support its approach to providing 
certain noncitizens with lawful, safe, orderly options for presenting 
themselves for inspection at a POE.
     cbp one as part of cbp's enforcement and processing operations
    The CBP One application, a secure and flexible platform, enables 
OFO to effectively and efficiently incorporate multiple enforcement 
processes and services into our long-standing security and facilitation 
operations.
    For example, in April 2022, the administration announced a process 
known as Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) that provides a pathway for 
Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside 
the United States to come to the United States through an airport POE 
and stay temporarily in a 2-year period of parole. Ukrainians 
participating in U4U must have an eligible and verified supporter in 
the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for 
the duration of their stay in the United States. U4U beneficiaries then 
submit required information to CBP on-line through CBP One.
    Building on the success of this process, in October 2022, DHS 
implemented a similar process to allow certain Venezuelan nationals and 
their immediate family members to request advance authorization to 
travel to the United States through an airport POE to seek a 
discretionary grant of parole. Similar processes were initiated in 
January 2023 for nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti. These four 
processes together are commonly referred to as ``CHNV.'' The CHNV 
processes leverage CBP One to collect the required applicant 
information.
    Separately from the parole processes described above, CBP One 
contains a functionality that provides noncitizens physically located 
in Central or Northern Mexico with the ability to schedule an 
appointment to present themselves at a land border POE for inspection 
and processing. This functionality was implemented in January 2023. 
Available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole (in addition to quick 
reference guides in a dozen languages), CBP One effectively cuts out 
smugglers, decreases migrant exploitation, and improves safety and 
security in addition to making the process more efficient. Without the 
advance information being provided through CBP One, processing at SWB 
land POEs would take additional time, thus diverting officers from 
other priorities. Since the CBP One scheduling feature was introduced, 
more than 530,000 noncitizens have successfully scheduled appointments 
to present themselves at a SWB land POE.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ As of February 29, 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Prior to the termination of the Title 42 order, the scheduling 
function was used by noncitizens to schedule an appointment to present 
at a SWB land POE to seek a humanitarian exception to the Title 42 
Order. When the Title 42 Order ended and CBP returned to processing all 
noncitizens under its long-standing Title 8 authorities, the scheduling 
capability in the app enabled all noncitizens who have submitted the 
appropriate information and are within Central or Northern Mexico to 
request a date and time to present at a designated POE for processing. 
However, noncitizens are not required to use CBP One to present at a 
POE for processing, and CBP inspects and processes all noncitizens who 
arrive at a POE, regardless of whether they use the application to 
schedule an appointment or submit registration information.
    Additionally, in May 2023, as part of the Government-wide post-
Title 42 strategy to address the anticipated increase in migrants 
seeking to enter the United States by way of the SWB, DHS and the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) published a Final Rule \5\ ``Circumvention 
of Lawful Pathways,'' establishing a rebuttable presumption of asylum 
ineligibility for certain noncitizens who fail to seek asylum or other 
protection in a country through which they travel and fail to take 
advantage of the existing and expanded lawful, safe, and orderly 
pathways and processes created by this administration, including the 
opportunity to schedule a time and place to present at a SWB land POE 
via the CBP One mobile application.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ 88 FR 31314 (published May 16, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The CBP One application is used in different ways to support 
various POE processes for travelers and stakeholders. For example, 
while CBP One includes functionality for those seeking to schedule an 
appointment to present at a land POE along the SWB, it has a separate 
and distinct functionality used by those seeking to request advance 
authorization to travel as part of established DHS parole processes, 
such as the U4U and CHNV processes.
    Noncitizens who are seeking to travel to the United States through 
the U4U or CHNV processes are required to have a U.S.-based supporter 
in the United States, who must first submit an affidavit of support 
with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and undergo 
required vetting. Following this review, if the supporter is verified, 
the intending beneficiary must submit certain information and 
documentation via CBP One to apply for an advance travel authorization. 
To be eligible to receive advance travel authorization under the U4U or 
CHNV processes, applicants must undergo rigorous biographic screening 
and security vetting and provide documentation verifying residency 
requirements; vaccination and other public heath requirements; and 
possession of a valid, unexpired passport. Once authorization is 
granted, U4U or CHNV participants can then travel by air to an interior 
POE and be considered for a grant of parole, which is determined by CBP 
on a case-by-case basis.
                          application security
    As with all CBP technology, ensuring the security and intended 
functionality of the CBP One platform is critical. To schedule an 
appointment at the land border using CBP One, users are required to 
submit biographic information, pass a geolocation check, and complete a 
live facial photo submission to schedule appointments. The geolocation 
check and live photo are key security measures to combat fraud by 
ensuring the person scheduling an appointment matches their 
registration, is a real person, and is located in Central or Northern 
Mexico.
    CBP One utilizes more secure GPS location data, rather than 
internet protocol (IP) addresses, to establish a user is in the 
designated geolocated location before they may request or accept an 
appointment offer. This makes the use of a Virtual Private Network 
(VPN) ineffective. CBP One has also incorporated multiple additional 
security features such as the addition of CAPTCHA technology to 
authenticate human users, improved back-end system changes to combat 
bots and automation, and acting against accounts flagged for fraudulent 
activity. CBP continues to monitor CBP One and pursue additional 
functionality and security capabilities to combat against fraud and bad 
actors who prey on noncitizens.
                       arrival at a port of entry
    CBP One is a valuable tool for streamlining processes, but in no 
way does the technology replace or automate an individual's inspection 
by a CBP officer at a POE.
    Noncitizens who schedule an appointment at a land border POE 
through CBP One are inspected upon arrival by CBP officers to determine 
their admissibility to the United States. Officers must verify the 
identity, nationality/citizenship, and stated intent for entry of each 
individual. This can be established through questioning and review of 
travel documents. An inspection will always include a review of law 
enforcement systems for prior immigration encounters or criminal 
history of the noncitizen. Officers will perform further questioning to 
determine if the individual is admissible or should be referred for a 
secondary inspection.
    If an individual is deemed inadmissible for, as an example, not 
having the appropriate documentation for admission, they will be 
subject to appropriate immigration processes under Title 8. CBP 
officers retain discretion in determining the appropriate process for 
each noncitizen on a case-by-case basis and while considering the 
totality of the circumstances. As an example, a noncitizen may be 
issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) before an immigration judge or, 
depending on the charge of inadmissibility, may be issued an Order of 
Expedited Removal. Individuals processed for expedited removal 
proceedings who express a fear of persecution or torture, a fear of 
return to their country, or who express a desire to seek asylum, are 
referred to USCIS for a credible fear or reasonable fear interview. CBP 
officers do not determine the validity of any claims of fear. 
Individuals issued a NTA and placed in removal proceedings will have 
the opportunity to seek protection, including asylum, or other forms of 
relief before an immigration judge.
    Additionally, noncitizens may be granted parole, on a case-by-case 
basis, for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, 
at a POE. In some cases, parole may occur following the issuance of an 
NTA. The authority for CBP to grant such a parole is found in 8 U.S.C. 
1182(d)(5) and 8 CFR 212.5. Noncitizens who are determined to pose a 
national security or public safety threat, or who otherwise do not 
warrant parole as a matter of officer discretion, will not be 
authorized a grant of parole and may be detained pending further 
processing.
                               conclusion
    CBP One, used alongside other resources, technology, and personnel, 
is a critical tool for helping front-line officers manage increased 
flows of irregular migration while maintaining a persistent focus on 
our other missions, like the interdiction of fentanyl, precursors, and 
other dangerous drugs.
    As we respond and adapt to evolving border dynamics, OFO will 
continue investing in innovative technology and fulfilling our border 
security mission by deploying resources, streamlining processes, and 
putting measures in place to prevent disruptions to our critical border 
security operations.
    OFO remains committed, vigilant, and responsive to the full range 
of our responsibilities including interdicting illicit drugs, 
preventing dangerous people and goods from crossing into our borders, 
enforcing hundreds of trade laws, and ensuring the efficient flow of 
lawful trade and travel that is so important to our economy.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to 
your questions.

    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Ms. Sabatino.
    I now recognize Ms. Meckley for 5 minutes to summarize her 
opening statement.

  STATEMENT OF TAMMY MECKLEY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, IMMIGRATION 
RECORDS AND IDENTITY SERVICES DIRECTORATE, U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND 
                      IMMIGRATION SERVICES

    Ms. Meckley. Chairman Green, Chairman Higgins, Chairman 
Bishop, Ranking Members Thompson, Correa, Ivey, and 
distinguished Members of the subcommittees. Thank you for the 
opportunity to speak with you today about the operations of 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
    USCIS is the Government agency that oversees lawful 
immigration to the United States, and I am proud to serve with 
over 20,000 Government employees who work at more than 200 
USCIS field offices across the country and the world to 
accomplish this mission.
    USCIS remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring a 
fair, orderly, and humane immigration system consistent with 
U.S. law and international obligations. As part of our mission, 
USCIS helps administer parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, 
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and their immediate family 
members.
    These processes are designed to help support the Department 
of Homeland Security's broader strategy to disincentivize 
irregular migration by simultaneously expanding the 
availability of safe, orderly, and lawful processes, and 
strictly enforcing our Nation's immigration laws by imposing 
consequences on individuals who do not avail themselves of 
these lawful pathways.
    I am here today to explain USCIS's role in the execution of 
these parole processes. DHS established the parole process for 
Venezuelans in October 2022, and the parole processes for 
Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans in January 2023.
    Through these processes, certain nationals of Cuba, Haiti, 
Nicaragua, and Venezuela, CHNV, and their immediate family 
members may request to come to the United States in a safe and 
orderly way. The processes are capped at 30,000 parolees per 
month across the 4 nationalities.
    USCIS's role in the CHNV process is to assess whether the 
potential supporter in the United States who commits to 
providing financial and other support for the beneficiary by 
filing a form I-134A on-line request to be a supporter and 
declaration of financial support meets established 
requirements.
    To serve as a supporter in this process, an individual or 
an individual representing an entity must be a U.S. citizen, 
national, or lawful permanent resident, or hold a lawful status 
in the United States, such as temporary protected status, 
asylum, or be a parolee or recipient of deferred action for 
deferred enforcement departure.
    The potential supporter must show evidence of sufficient 
financial resources to qualify as a supporter for purposes of 
CHNV parole process. USCIS uses Federal poverty guidelines as a 
general guide to assess financial sufficiency.
    Potential supporters who file a form I-134A on behalf of a 
beneficiary under these processes must be willing and able to 
receive, maintain, and support the listed beneficiary for the 
duration of their parole and articulate how they will do so.
    USCIS employs a multi-faceted approach to screening and 
vetting potential supporters. At filing, system checks are 
initiated automatically on supporters for all submissions. 
These checks will automatically flag cases with matching 
records or hits.
    USCIS officers determine whether the hit relates to the 
potential supporter. If a hit relates to a potential supporter, 
the USCIS officer will determine whether the hit impacts the 
potential supporter's eligibility for these processes.
    USCIS also uses a wide range of risk-based modeling and 
biographic searches, initiate referrals to its fraud detection 
national security directorate for additional screening of 
potential supporters, and even site visits or administrative 
investigation where appropriate. This can occur at all stages 
of the process and is based on a continuously-reassessed risk 
factor and direct referral from reviewers, tips, or biographic 
data screens.
    Once a potential supporter has filed the form I-134A and is 
confirmed or nonconfirmed by USCIS, our role is complete. The 
beneficiary then receives email instructions for creating a 
USCIS on-line account and must confirm their biographic 
information and complete necessary attestations for themselves 
and, if applicable, immediate family members.
    Once this information has been submitted, CBP determines 
whether to issue an advance travel authorization to the 
beneficiary and makes a case-by-case parole determination at 
the port of entry.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to explain our role, 
and I would be happy to answer any questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Meckley follows:]

                  Prepared Statement of Tammy Meckley
                             March 21, 2024
    Chairman Higgins, Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Correa, Ranking 
Member Ivey, and distinguished Members of the subcommittees: Thank you 
for the opportunity to speak with you today about the operational 
execution of some of the processes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) helps administer. USCIS is the Government agency that 
oversees lawful immigration to the United States, and I am proud to 
serve with the over 20,000 Government employees and contractors that 
work at more than 200 USCIS offices across the country and the world to 
accomplish this mission.
    USCIS remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring a fair, 
orderly, and humane immigration system, consistent with U.S. law and 
international obligations. As part of our mission, USCIS helps 
administer parole processes for Ukrainians, Cubans, Haitians, 
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and their immediate family members. These 
processes support the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) 
broader strategy to disincentivize irregular migration by 
simultaneously expanding the availability of safe, orderly, and lawful 
processes to come to the United States, and strictly enforcing our 
Nation's immigration laws by imposing consequences on individuals who 
do not avail themselves of these lawful pathways.
    I am here today to explain USCIS's role in the execution of these 
parole processes.
                               background
    Building on the success of the Uniting for Ukraine parole process, 
DHS established the parole process for Venezuelans in October 2022 and 
the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans in January 
2023. Through these processes, certain nationals of Cuba, Haiti, 
Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) and their immediate family members may 
request to come to the United States in a safe and orderly way. The 
processes are capped at 30,000 parolees per month across the four 
nationalities. Eligible beneficiaries, who are outside the United 
States, may be considered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 
on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant 
public benefit, for advance authorization to travel and a temporary 
period of parole for up to 2 years. To participate, eligible 
beneficiaries must:
   Have a confirmed supporter in the United States who must 
        first complete a process with USCIS;
   Undergo and clear robust security vetting;
   Meet other eligibility criteria; and
   Warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.
              parole supporter definition and requirements
    USCIS's role in the CHNV processes is to assess whether a potential 
supporter in the United States who commits to providing financial and 
other support for the beneficiary by filing Form I-134A, Online Request 
to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, meets 
established requirements. The supporter is the individual who pledges 
to provide financial support to the beneficiary for the duration of the 
parole authorization period.
    To serve as a supporter in this process, an individual or an 
individual representing an entity must:
   Be a U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident; 
        hold a lawful status in the United States, such as Temporary 
        Protected Status or asylum; or be a parolee or recipient of 
        deferred action or Deferred Enforced Departure;
   Pass security and background vetting, including for public 
        safety, national security, human trafficking, and exploitation 
        concerns; and
   Demonstrate sufficient financial resources to receive, 
        maintain, and support the individual(s) they are agreeing to 
        support for the duration of their parole period.
    The supporter is required to submit a Form I-134A for each 
individual they wish to support and demonstrate the adequacy of 
financial resources to support that individual during their stay in the 
United States. Financial support may be offered by organizations, 
businesses, or other entities, however, the I-134A must be filed by an 
individual. In those instances, USCIS reviewers may accept a letter of 
commitment from the organization and consider its financial resources.
                     sufficient financial evidence
    The potential supporter must show evidence of sufficient financial 
resources to qualify as a supporter for purposes of the CHNV parole 
processes. USCIS uses the Federal Poverty Guidelines as a general guide 
to assess financial sufficiency.
    Potential supporters who file Form I-134A on behalf of a 
beneficiary under these processes must be willing and able to receive, 
maintain, and support the listed beneficiary for the duration of their 
parole, and articulate how they will do so.
    Examples of evidence to show sufficient financial resources can 
include tax documents, bank statements, and pay stubs. Potential 
supporters are also required to describe in detail their plan for 
providing essential support to beneficiaries, such as basic living 
needs, appropriate housing, and access to available services and 
benefits, such as learning English, securing employment, and enrolling 
in school.
                           security screening
    USCIS employs a multi-faceted approach to screening and vetting 
potential supporters. At filing, system checks are initiated 
automatically on supporters for all submissions. These checks will 
automatically flag cases with matching records (or ``hits''). USCIS 
officers determine whether the hit relates to the potential supporter. 
If the hit relates to the potential supporter, the USCIS officer will 
determine whether the hit impacts the potential supporter's eligibility 
for these processes. For example:
   The potential supporter is subject to an order of 
        protection.
   The potential supporter is under investigation for, has been 
        arrested for (without disposition), or has been convicted of 
        any of the following offenses:
     Egregious Public Safety;\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ An Egregious Public Safety case is defined by USCIS and U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the 2020 Memorandum of 
Agreement (MOA) Between USCIS and ICE Regarding the Referral of 
Immigration Benefit Fraud and Public Safety Cases. This includes 
murder, sexual abuse of a minor, and illicit trafficking of controlled 
substances or trafficking of persons but this is not exhaustive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Adam Walsh Act violations;
     Domestic violence;
     Sexual assault; or
     Immigration fraud.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Immigration fraud is defined by USCIS in the Policy Manual 
under Chapter 2--Overview of Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   The potential supporter poses a potential national security, 
        public safety, or trafficking concern, as indicated by the hit.
   Any association with crimes involving children (child 
        exploitation, child sex abuse, child abuse, etc.) or 
        trafficking in persons.
    USCIS also uses a wide range of risk-based modeling and biographic 
searches to initiate referrals to its Fraud Detection and National 
Security (FDNS) Directorate for additional screening of potential 
supporters, and even site visits or administrative investigation where 
appropriate. This can occur at all stages of the process and is based 
on continuously reassessed risk factors and on direct referrals from 
reviewers, tips, or biographic data scrapes.
    Once the potential supporter has filed the Form I-134A and it is 
confirmed by USCIS, the beneficiary receives emailed instructions for 
creating a USCIS on-line account and linking their case. In the on-line 
account, the beneficiary reviews and confirms their biographic 
information and completes necessary attestations (including 
attestations for eligibility and vaccines) for themselves and, if 
applicable, immediate family members. Once this information has been 
submitted, CBP determines whether to issue an advance travel 
authorization to the beneficiary and makes a case-by-case parole 
determination at the port of entry.
                               conclusion
    Thank you again for the opportunity to explain our role, and I 
would be happy to answer any questions.

    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Ms. Meckley.
    I now recognize Ms. Youth for 5 minutes to summarize her 
opening statement.

STATEMENT OF MARTA YOUTH, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, 
BUREAU OF POPULATION, REFUGEES, AND MIGRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT 
                            OF STATE

    Ms. Youth. Good afternoon, Chair Higgins, Ranking Member 
Correa, Chair Bishop, Ranking Member Ivey, Chair Green, and 
distinguished Members of the committee. I'm pleased to be here 
today to share with you the latest on our efforts to respond to 
the challenge of irregular migration and forced displacement in 
the Western Hemisphere.
    The world is facing historic levels of human mobility and 
the Western Hemisphere is no exception. Last year, more than 20 
million people were displaced across our region.
    For an effective response, we need more than humanitarian 
aid and increased enforcement. We need to consider the unique 
reasons that people are on the move. Some are fleeing 
persecution, violence, natural disasters. Others are seeking 
economic opportunity and others to be reunified with family 
members.
    The administration's comprehensive policy is a solutions-
oriented approach. We're working to address the causes that 
lead people to migrate, create protection and integration 
mechanisms in the region so that people have the option to 
remain, the option to remain closer to home, and facilitate 
safe, humane, orderly, and lawful migration pathways for 
others.
    Today I'll share some of the work we're doing as part of 
this broad, comprehensive, collaborative approach to migration 
management in the region.
    Since 2021, to address irregular migration and ensure our 
national security, the United States has led an expansion of 
lawful pathways to the United States. The Safe Mobility 
initiative known by the Spanish name Mobilidad Segura, is one 
of the many ways the United States is facilitating access to 
safe and lawful pathways to countries in the region so that 
refugees do not have to undertake dangerous journeys in search 
of safety.
    Safe Mobility offices are currently operational in 
Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Ecuador. The Safe Mobility 
initiative revolutionized how we are able to screen, refer, and 
process individuals in the region for refugee resettlement.
    Safe Mobility offices also serve as hubs for providing 
information about lawful pathways, and it informs ineligible 
individuals about services and programs available to them in 
their application country or their country of origin so that 
they can have safe, supported options to remain where they are.
    We're working to expand the reach and scope of the Safe 
Mobility initiative. Strengthening pathways to the United 
States and other countries through this initiative is 
groundbreaking and will prove essential to meeting the needs of 
the day, protecting our border, promoting safe and orderly 
migration, while still taking advantage of the wealth of 
benefits that refugees and migrants bring to local communities 
and the overall economy of the United States.
    While refugee resettlement is a critical lifeline for 
certain groups of people, asylum in other countries within 
Latin America is an excellent option for many in need of 
international protection.
    Humanitarian assistance, generously provided by Congress to 
the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, has had a 
significant impact in stabilizing displaced populations in host 
countries, especially by strengthening access to asylum and 
regularization in countries like Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, 
Mexico, and many others.
    These programs, in conjunction with partner country 
efforts, have provided access to protection and stability to 
millions of individuals and have helped to mitigate their 
movements to the U.S. border to seek safety.
    The United States is the global leader in delivering 
Humanitarian assistance world-wide, including in the Western 
Hemisphere. With this assistance, our international 
humanitarian organization partners deliver life-saving water, 
support for shelter, sanitation, and emergency medical 
assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced 
persons, state-less persons, and vulnerable migrants.
    Our assistance stabilizes refugees and vulnerable migrants 
in their host communities, helps them integrate and rebuild 
their lives and find solutions closer to home so that displaced 
people can remain in host communities and avoid dangerous 
journeys to the United States.
    Responding to the Western hemisphere's largest migration 
and forced displacement crisis in history requires an approach 
as comprehensive as the reasons that people are on the move. 
When combining stronger, lawful pathways and protection options 
within the region with root causes programming, repatriation, 
border management, and increased consequences for irregular 
entry, these efforts make up the administration's holistic 
approach to create safe, humane, lawful, and orderly migration 
options within the region.
    In closing, I would like to thank the Members of the 
subcommittees for the opportunity to discuss these critical 
issues and the work we're doing to meet the challenges of the 
moment. We appreciate your support.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Youth follows:]

                   Prepared Statement of Marta Youth
                             March 21, 2024
    Good afternoon, Chair Higgins, Chair Bishop, Ranking Member Correa, 
Ranking Member Ivey, and distinguished Members of the committee. I am 
pleased to be here today to share with you the latest on our efforts to 
respond to the historic levels of irregular migration and forced 
displacement in the Western Hemisphere.
          migration and forced displacement challenge--context
    The world is facing historic levels of human mobility, and the 
Western Hemisphere is no exception. Last year, over 20 million people 
were displaced across the region. While the United States has been the 
destination for many, we are far from alone. Of the more than 7.5 
million Venezuelans living outside their country, over 6.5 million are 
in Latin America and Caribbean. Costa Rica is now hosting over 500,000 
Nicaraguan refugees and migrants fleeing the Ortega regime. These 
individuals are on the move alongside others from Central and South 
America, from the Caribbean, and from elsewhere in the world. It is 
clear that no one country alone is impacted, and that no one country 
holds the solutions. For an effective response, we need more than just 
humanitarian aid and increased enforcement. We must consider the unique 
reasons people are on the move--some are fleeing persecution, violence, 
and natural disasters, others seek economic opportunity, and others 
family reunification.
    To account for these distinct needs and circumstances, the 
administration's comprehensive approach is to address the causes that 
lead people to migrate, create protection mechanisms within the region, 
and facilitate safe, orderly, humane and lawful migration pathways. 
This holistic approach involves strengthening national asylum, 
registration, regularization, and integration frameworks; improving 
humane border enforcement and repatriation capabilities abroad; 
preventing refoulement; and increasing the consequences for irregular 
entry to the United States.
    We have worked to make this comprehensive approach regional, by 
partnering with 21 countries from across the hemisphere through the Los 
Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. Today, I will share 
some of the work we are doing as part of this broad, comprehensive, and 
collaborative approach to migration management in the region.
Strengthening Pathways to the United States and Third Countries Outside 
        Latin America and the Caribbean
    Since 2021, to address irregular migration and ensure our national 
security, the United States has led the largest expansion in decades of 
lawful pathways to the United States to help refugees, vulnerable 
migrants, and forcibly displaced persons in the Western Hemisphere. 
Individuals seeking international protection and other lawful pathways 
have various potential options for regular migration to the United 
States and other countries, including refugee resettlement, 
humanitarian parole, family reunification, labor pathways, and seeking 
asylum in host countries, subject to meeting eligibility criteria. They 
can also access various support services provided by international 
organizations and NGO's in the region.
    The Safe Mobility initiative (known by the Spanish name Movilidad 
Segura) is one of the many ways the United States is facilitating 
access to safe and lawful pathways from countries in the region, so 
refugees do not have to undertake dangerous journeys in search of 
safety. Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) are currently operational in 
Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala.
    The Safe Mobility initiative revolutionized how we refer and 
process individuals in the region for refugee resettlement. The SMOs 
also serve as hubs for providing information about humanitarian parole, 
family reunification, and labor pathways. Applicants apply via an on-
line platform through which experts from international organizations, 
specifically the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the 
U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), help individuals assess which, if any, 
lawful pathways might work for them. More than 150,000 people already 
registered on MovilidadSegura.org. And if the individuals are not 
eligible for any of those lawful pathways, they are informed about 
services and programs available to them in their application country or 
country of origin to give them safe, supported options to remain where 
they are.
    The Safe Mobility initiative is designed to provide access to a 
range of lawful pathways to the United States but also to other 
countries as well. Refugee resettlement processing is just one option 
available via SMOs. Individuals who qualify for resettlement to the 
United States under the Safe Mobility initiative undergo expedited 
refugee processing based on lessons learned in the administration's 
effort to rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). These 
refugee applicants undergo the same rigorous and multi-layered 
interagency screening and vetting process as all other refugees and, if 
eligible, most will arrive in the United States in just a matter of 
months.
    As of March 3, through the Safe Mobility initiative, more than 
22,200 individuals have been referred to USRAP for potential 
resettlement to the United States, and more than 14,000 individuals 
have been screened for other lawful pathways to the United States. More 
than 6,500 individuals have already arrived in the United States under 
the Safe Mobility initiative.
    We are also working with other migrant-hosting countries to expand 
lawful pathways, including labor pathways with Spain and Canada. Almost 
300 vulnerable migrants in Costa Rica have been referred for 
resettlement to Spain via the SMO mechanism. We are working to expand 
the reach of the SMOs. An interagency working group focused on lawful 
pathways to third countries is working with other countries to connect 
them to the Safe Mobility initiative.
    Working closely with international organization partners, we are 
building capacity, running extensive messaging campaigns, and 
exponentially increasing the number of people who receive information 
or services via the SMOs. In the refugee pathway, for example, we aim 
to resettle between 35,000 and 50,000 individuals in fiscal year 2024, 
an historic and ambitious goal which would amount to an increase in 
refugee resettlement from the Western Hemisphere of over 450 percent 
from last year.
    Strengthening pathways to the United States and other countries 
through the SMOs is a groundbreaking approach that will prove essential 
in helping meet the needs of the day: protecting our borders, promoting 
safe and orderly migration, while still taking advantage of the wealth 
of benefits that refugees and migrants bring to local communities and 
the overall economy of United States.
Strengthening Protection Options Within the Region
    While refugee resettlement is a critical lifeline for certain 
groups of people, asylum in other countries within Latin America is an 
excellent option for many in need of international protection. The 
humanitarian assistance funds Congress has generously provided to the 
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) to administer has 
had a significant impact in stabilizing displaced populations in host 
countries, especially by strengthening access to asylum and 
regularization in countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and 
Mexico. These programs, in conjunction with partner country efforts, 
have provided access to protection and stability for millions of 
individuals and have helped to mitigate movements to the U.S. border to 
seek safety.
    The United States is the global leader in delivering humanitarian 
assistance world-wide, including in the Western Hemisphere. PRM 
provided more than $594 million of the funding entrusted to us by 
Congress in humanitarian assistance in the Western Hemisphere in fiscal 
year 2023. With this assistance, our international humanitarian 
organization partners deliver lifesaving water, shelter, sanitation, 
and emergency health care to refugees, asylum seekers, internally 
displaced persons, stateless persons, and vulnerable migrants. Our 
assistance stabilizes refugees and vulnerable migrants in their host 
communities and provides solutions closer to home so that displaced 
people can remain in host communities and avoid dangerous journeys 
toward the United States. This assistance also helps host countries 
receive refugees and migrants as an opportunity for social inclusion 
and economic growth. Those who are able to integrate and rebuild their 
lives closer to home are much less likely to continue the dangerous 
journey northward.
    The humanitarian funding PRM oversees bolsters our partners' 
capacity-strengthening work with host governments to develop effective 
and efficient asylum systems, strengthen humane migration management 
mechanisms, and give local communities the resources they need to 
welcome and integrate refugees and other vulnerable populations.
    With our support through our partner, UNHCR, Mexico's national 
refugee commission increased its registration and processing capacity 
by nearly 500 percent since 2018. In 2023, Mexico was the country with 
the third-highest number of asylum claims in the world.
    Through our humanitarian partners, we also support Costa Rica's 
asylum agency, including 90 percent of its staff costs. Despite its 
relatively small size, the country hosts more than 600,000 Nicaraguans 
and received the fourth-highest number of asylum claims in the world in 
2023, behind only the United States, Germany, and Mexico.
    Colombia and Ecuador have taken significant steps to improve 
migrant access to regularization and support services. With PRM 
assistance, partner organizations helped Colombia develop and implement 
a 10-year temporary protected status program that so far has allowed 
over 1.6 million Venezuelans to work and access health and education 
services in Colombia. And in Ecuador, PRM partners IOM and UNHCR 
provide essential staffing and technical support to Ecuador's ambitious 
registration and regularization program. Since the program started in 
August 2022, more than 201,000 individuals completed registration, 
83,600 have received a temporary residency visa, and more than 64,000 
have received an Ecuadorian ID card.
    All these efforts to build asylum capacity and help migrants and 
refugees access legal status and services in the region have allowed 
millions of individuals to gain the legal status that allows them to 
remain and lead dignified lives throughout the region.
    In interviews with humanitarian partners, displaced persons in 
Mexico and at our Southwest Border often report moving and hiding 
within their home country multiple times before fleeing across a 
border. We know that when these individuals have a viable option to 
stay in their country safely, that is the option they choose. Through 
our U.N. and other partners, we work with governments in the region to 
strengthen local protection responses for internally displaced persons, 
so they need not resort to crossing an international border.
    When we talk about supporting options for people to restart their 
lives within the region as opposed to coming here, improving access to 
protection, whether through asylum or other temporary status, is only 
part of the challenge.
    All this work on strengthening administrative processing capacity 
and reforming legal frameworks only pays off if the circumstances in 
host countries enable refugees to rebuild their lives and become self-
reliant. This means being able to enroll their kids in school, access 
local health care and other social services, get jobs and housing, and 
open bank accounts--which is why PRM also supports local integration 
efforts throughout the region.
    For example, we support UNHCR, in coordination with the government 
of Mexico, to help refugees get jobs, including in Mexican cities with 
labor shortages along the country's industrial belt. Since its 
inception, this program has helped more than 30,000 refugees find 
dignified, decent work and rebuild their lives in Mexico. The program 
has an average retention rate after a year of around 70 percent.
    Just this year, our support in Guatemala enabled the authorities 
there to transition to a fully on-line system for issuing work permits 
to asylum seekers with pending claims, reducing the average wait time 
from 15 to 4 business days.
    In Brazil, the Brazilian government voluntarily relocated more than 
100,000 Venezuelans from the border to more than 930 Brazilian cities 
since 2018, representing a quarter of the 426,000 Venezuelans who have 
arrived in Brazil. This relocation effort, supported by PRM partners 
who rely on U.S. humanitarian funding, enables Venezuelans in Brazil to 
better access jobs, housing, and education, as well as reunite 
families.
    Our approach to integration includes support for host communities 
as well, which is critical to promoting social cohesion and mitigating 
the risk of rising xenophobia.
Regional Circular Labor Migration Pathways
    One of the many reasons people migrate is for economic opportunity. 
When these workers lack lawful means to migrate, they are more 
vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, whether by human smugglers or 
traffickers or in the workplace. This is why our approach to expanding 
access to lawful pathways includes increasing the availability of 
temporary labor pathways with worker protections to the United States 
but also to third countries, including within the region.
    The H-2 visa program is the primary pathway for seasonal migrants 
to find temporary work in the United States while supporting U.S. 
employers in certain sectors. On November 17, 2023, the Department of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of Labor, 
exercised a temporary increase of 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural 
worker visas for fiscal year 2024. Twenty thousand of these visas are 
reserved for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. At the same time, we are working across 
the U.S. Government to enhance safeguards in these programs, to better 
protect the rights of all workers in the United States.
    Beyond labor pathways to the United States, or as previously 
mentioned to Spain and Canada and other countries in the future, we are 
also working to strengthen pathways and protection for migrant workers 
elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere. PRM funding to IOM enables labor 
migration capacity building that engages governments and private-sector 
actors in the region to strengthen their labor pathways and implement 
ethical recruitment practices. One highly successful outcome of these 
efforts is Costa Rica's bilateral temporary labor migration mechanisms 
in the agricultural sector. Over 27,800 migrant workers from Nicaragua 
and Panama have benefited from these mechanisms, making an important 
contribution to the Costa Rican economy during the coffee harvest. And 
we expect the program to expand to additional countries in Central 
America this year.
    This exemplifies the kind of programming PRM seeks to support. It 
increases worker protections and allows individuals to access economic 
opportunities while remaining closer to their families. It also 
leverages existing data on circular migration flows to regularize 
pathways where the need is greatest. In doing so, the program directly 
cuts down on irregular migration at its inception and reduces instances 
of abuse and exploitation.
                                closing
    Responding to the Western Hemisphere's largest migration and forced 
displacement crisis in history requires an approach as comprehensive as 
the reasons people are on the move. Expanding access to lawful 
pathways; strengthening local options such as asylum, regularization, 
and reintegration frameworks; and promoting integration into host 
communities are just one portion of the administration's comprehensive 
plan. Combined with root causes programming, repatriation, border 
management, and increased consequences for irregular entry, these 
efforts make up the administration's holistic approach to create safe, 
humane, lawful and orderly migration options within the region.
    In closing, I'd like to thank the Members of these subcommittees 
for the opportunity to discuss these critical issues and the work we 
are doing to meet the challenges of the moment. We appreciate your 
support.

    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Ms. Youth, for your opening 
statement.
    Members will be recognized by order of seniority for their 
5 minutes of questioning. An additional round of questioning 
may be called after all Members have been recognized.
    I'll now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning.
    Before I begin, I would like to welcome Mr. Suozzi. I'm 
going to call you Suozzi forever.
    The gentleman from New York is, indeed, a gentleman. He won 
a special election, and we appreciate his presence on the 
committee. He's a regular guy at the gym, and so we welcome you 
here, sir. I look forward to your input.
    Mr. Suozzi. Thank you.
    Mr. Higgins. Mr. Hunter, how would you define--this is not 
a trick question, by the way. How would you define a border, a 
sovereign border?
    Mr. Hunter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A sovereign border in 
the United States, and for any country, is critical under laws 
to ensure--it is the responsibility of the country to ensure--
--
    Mr. Higgins. Would you describe a sovereign border as a 
definite line between a sovereign nation and, say, 
international waters or between sovereign nations?
    Mr. Hunter. It is indeed, Mr. Chairman----
    Mr. Higgins. Indeed, it is.
    Mr. Hunter [continuing]. A demarcation, yes.
    Mr. Higgins. So you would concur that a sovereign border is 
a definite line?
    Mr. Hunter. It's where the United States exercises its 
authorities, yes, sir. It is where the United States----
    Mr. Higgins. Thus we have shifted. So it's where a 
sovereign nation exercises its authority upon sovereign soil, 
would you say, like our embassies--our embassies across the 
world are considered our sovereign soil, are they not?
    Mr. Hunter. I believe so. I would defer to my State 
Department colleague on our consul-----
    Mr. Higgins. So you've initially interpreted a border in 
the traditional and historical sense of what a border is. I 
recall years ago, in one of my many, many trips to the border, 
there was only a couple of us there, and I ventured across the 
water there on the rocks where the illegal immigrants had been 
crossing by the hundreds at this particular point. The agents 
present were quite concerned lest I take one step too many as I 
walked toward the center, they're like, Congressman, don't take 
another step--because one more step and I was in Mexico.
    That's our sovereign border. This is the historical 
understanding of our border. But in April 2023, the Department 
of State and the Department of Homeland Security announced 
measures to, ``to reduce unlawful migration across the Western 
Hemisphere, significantly expand lawful pathways for 
protection, and facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane 
processing of migrants''.
    This is a quote that was cited by a couple of the panelists 
here before us today. These are the words of the Biden 
administration.
    This announcement further expanded the CBP One app, 
creating a whole new parole process and opening, Regional 
Processing Centers in the Western Hemisphere.
    As far as we know, the Regional Processing Centers--pay 
attention, America, with what's going on here--these Regional 
Processing Centers, also known as Safe Mobility Offices, have 
been opened in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, 
and have allowed DHS to quickly process illegal immigrants in 
the cartel pipeline, wishing to enter the United States, or 
stating that their intention is to enter the United States, 
should they continue their journey northward in the cartel 
pipeline that leads to the southern sovereign border of the 
United States of America.
    These Regional Processing Centers, which is hard to get a 
clear picture of, it's difficult to get maps, numbers, 
deployments, mission parameters, makes no sense to me why, with 
the historic crisis at our border, you know, hundreds of 
thousands of individuals entering the country every month--not 
every year, every month--makes no sense to most Americans when 
they discover we're processing and transporting immigrants from 
within foreign nations, not on sovereign American soil, not 
through ports of entry, but through these Regional Processing 
Centers.
    Under this new system, the entire world has become the 
sovereign American border by the interpretation of the Biden 
administration.
    If you have legal authority to establish Regional 
Processing Centers in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa 
Rica--and I'm about to ask you to please cite that legal 
authority--then why can't you--can you put those up everywhere 
in the world? We no longer have a sovereign border to defend 
and enforce our laws? We can process illegal immigrants, 
undocumented illegal immigrants, unscreened, directly into the 
interior of our country.
    This is quite a concern.
    Ms. Sabatino, from these processing centers, are illegal, 
undocumented aliens being registered through CBP One app, 
granted parole and flown directly into the interior of the 
United States, bypassing what most Americans would recognize as 
our sovereign border?
    Ms. Sabatino. Thank you for the question, Chairman. With 
respect to individuals processed through the Safe Mobility 
Office, CBP does not have a role in identifying or----
    Mr. Higgins. So who would you defer that to--Mr. Hunter?
    Ms. Sabatino. With respect to the Safe Mobility Office----
    Mr. Higgins. With respect to illegal immigrants that are 
plucked out of the cartel pipeline in Central America, at a 
DHS-established Regional Processing Center, are any of those 
illegal aliens being flown directly from foreign nations into 
the interior of our country? Can we get a straight answer 
there?
    Mr. Hunter. Mr. Chairman, the operations at these Safe 
Mobility Offices are in partnership with the Department of 
State and these host-country governments. What we are doing are 
screening individuals who are maybe eligible for existing 
pathways such as refugee resettlement, and we are conducting 
full, refugee-resettlement screening and vetting processes----
    Mr. Higgins. Are they being flown into the interior of our 
country?
    Mr. Hunter. If they are indeed approved to be resettled as 
refugees, then the standard process is applied. They are being 
organized----
    Mr. Higgins. This was how you try to get to a ``yes,'' 
America. The answer is, yes, illegal aliens are being pulled 
from the cartel pipeline at DHS-established Regional Processing 
Centers in Central and South America and flown directly into 
the interior of our country.
    My time has expired. I now recognize the Ranking Member for 
his questions.
    Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and, again, I thank 
the witnesses for your information here.
    You know, I started out talking big picture, resources, 
causes, but let's bring it down to what we may be able to do 
here. So let's break it down. How do you eat an elephant? One 
bite at a time.
    So let's start out with what appears to be the issue right 
now--the border flooded with refugees, probably economic 
refugees that probably wouldn't qualify for admission under the 
existing laws of the United States.
    I don't agree with that law because under this existing 
law, most of our ancestors probably wouldn't qualify to come to 
this country. But that's what the U.S. law is right now.
    You essentially have to establish that you're fleeing from 
another country, for your life, your fear, kind-of a more-or-
less legal reason that you can come to the United States.
    The challenge right now--and I'm going to ask all of you to 
help me frame this--is the processing of the refugees. Is that 
correct? Is that a big issue at the border right now? Yes? No? 
Mr. Hunter.
    Mr. Hunter. Yes, Mr. Ranking Member, the challenge is the 
number of individuals that are seeking to enter the United 
States. We have a requirement under law that we inspect and 
process every individual who comes to a port of entry and----
    Mr. Correa. You don't have the capability of doing it right 
now?
    Mr. Hunter. Correct. We have limited resources, sir----
    Mr. Correa. You need more processing, USCIS officers and 
immigration judges, which we don't. We have a massive backlog. 
So let's think about this. Where are we putting our resources? 
Right now, tomorrow, we're going to vote on a minibus--we call 
it a minibus--bill.
    We're going to fully fund 22,000 Border Patrol agents. 
These are the green uniforms. That's my understanding. I just 
read that a couple hours ago.
    People will process, at the gates to the United States, 
essentially there's only 150 blue uniforms that will be 
essentially funded tomorrow. I think that's just way too few. 
You're--the people that are part of that processing to come to 
the United States or not. I don't know if there's any funding 
for USCIS offices and immigration judges.
    Again, you got people coming in. You want to process them 
under the law which--in a reasonable time period. If you were 
to do that, probably most of these individuals wouldn't qualify 
to come to the United States. Is that correct? Please, anybody 
jump in.
    Mr. Hunter. Mr. Ranking Member, we do see that once 
individuals are in the United States, they do have the right to 
claim asylum, and most do before an immigration judge. That 
process, as you've observed, takes far too long. It can take 5 
to 8 years to resolve, and the grant rates ultimately in that 
process, I believe, are under 30 percent.
    Mr. Correa. Ms. Sabatino, any thoughts on that?
    Ms. Sabatino. Agree with Deputy Assistant Secretary Hunter.
    Mr. Correa. Yes, yes.
    Ms. Meckley, Ms. Youth, any thoughts? What I'm trying to do 
is trying to figure out what everybody's talking about here. 
OK? That we have a challenge at the border, a refugee crisis, 
economic or political. Under existing laws, if you're an 
economic refugee, you wouldn't qualify under our laws to come. 
If you're a refugee because of fearing for life, you would 
qualify.
    Yet the argument is CBP One is that magic ticket to come to 
the United States. Is it, first of all, CBP One, the magic 
ticket to come to the United States or just a processing tool?
    Ms. Sabatino. I'll take that one.
    Mr. Correa. Yes.
    Ms. Sabatino. CBP One is a processing tool. Certainly prior 
to the implementation of CBP One, with any mass or surge to any 
of our ports of entry, our officers would've been----
    Mr. Correa. You check that against your known databases? 
Yes? No?
    Ms. Sabatino. We check it against a host of law 
enforcement----
    Mr. Correa. You vet?
    Mr. Bishop, I can't read your smile. So tell me, you 
disagree with that.
    Mr. Bishop. Well, if the gentleman is yielding, how do they 
vet the criminal databases about where the people are coming 
from?
    Mr. Correa. Ms. Sabatino, how do you vet this stuff?
    Ms. Sabatino. We run the individuals against the TSDS or 
the watchlist. We certainly run them against TECS, which is our 
comprehensive law enforcement database, and that database is 
comprised of information such as prior immigration encounters 
but also information provided by the Department of State or 
information that we've gleaned from other international 
partnerships, as well as----
    Mr. Correa. The same partnerships--I'm out of time, but if 
I can, Mr. Chairman, just have a moment--I'm trying to 
establish here that you do process the same databases that you 
probably have, that we have here in the centers that we have 
here in Washington, DC, to determine whether these individuals 
are suspected terrorists, watch list? Yes? No?
    Ms. Sabatino. The most important resource in this process 
is the CBP officer, the trained, skilled CBP officers, 
including our tactical terrorism response teams who interview 
the individuals that are suspected of having derogatory 
information.
    Mr. Correa. I'm going to stop. I'm out of time, but what I 
was trying to establish folks is, what's the bottleneck here? 
What's the problem with the border and why are officers 
overwhelmed? Why can't we make these quick decisions there, and 
what is it that it's going to take?
    Tomorrow we're going to vote on a minibus, more green 
uniforms, very few blue uniforms, but is that the solution, or 
are we still looking at still, you know, essentially swimming 
upstream.
    Mr. Chairman, I look forward to continuing this discussion. 
Thank you.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields. I now recognize the 
gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Bishop.
    Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do always find the 
juxtaposition of comments from Mr. Correa and mine to be 
helpful to me, because I think you've hit on it.
    Before you can solve a problem, you've got to discern what 
it is. So if you're going to send more money for border agents 
to process people faster into the United States, it doesn't 
make a lot of sense to me that you're likely to have the result 
of fewer people coming into the United States. Just a guess.
    Well, no, no. I am--I am--I'm starting there, believe me, 
I'm getting ready to. Believe me. Believe me.
    Mr. Hunter, I was struck by the beginning of your 
testimony. You say--at the beginning of your testimony, you 
listed causes of this significant increase in irregular 
migration--violence, food insecurity, severe poverty, 
corruption, climate change, fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
dire economic conditions. That's 7.
    Let me ask you this. I'm looking at the, I think this is 
the National Immigration Law Center, a pro-immigration group, 
says, it described this, and it's one of--you can find this 
description anywhere--on January 20, 2021, just hours after 
being sworn in, President Joe Biden took several immigration-
related actions that together signal a new era for immigration 
policy. They comprise an important first step, redressing some 
of the ways in which immigrant communities have been profoundly 
harmed in particular over the last 4 years, and toward the 
United States becoming more welcoming of immigrants and 
refugees.
    There's an appearance of Secretary Mayorkas on CNN that 
everybody's seen recently in which he said, we've rescinded so 
many Trump immigration policies, it would take too much time to 
list them--too many to list.
    I wonder, as you were describing the causes of increased 
migration, why did you omit all of those landmark changes in 
policy by the Biden administration?
    Mr. Hunter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the question. In 
illustrating the various drivers of irregular migration, I was 
highlighting why people are on the move. When it comes to 
policies----
    Mr. Bishop. Do those policies, those landmark policies, do 
they have anything to do with the significant increase in 
migration across the United States border that some of my 
colleagues are now saying is a crisis that Republicans need to 
solve?
    Mr. Hunter. Mr. Chairman, we have seen surges in irregular 
migration historically under Presidents of both parties----
    Mr. Bishop. But I'm asking about these policies and whether 
they caused the crisis that we now see. Will you answer that 
question?
    Mr. Hunter. Mr. Chairman, no, our policies did not cause 
the reasons in rogue regimes such as Cuba, Nicaragua----
    Mr. Bishop. So rogue regimes had something to do with it 
but not the dramatic change in policy by the Biden 
administration? Is that what you're testifying to this 
Congress?
    Mr. Hunter. The administration's policy and our strategy at 
DHS is to reduce irregular migration.
    Mr. Bishop. You believe it's been successful then in 
reducing irregular migration?
    Mr. Hunter. Within the boundaries of our authorities and 
resources, we have a two-pronged approach to enact and 
enforce----
    Mr. Bishop. OK, OK, enough.
    Ms. Youth, let me switch to you because you were very 
candid. You said since--excuse me--since 2021, to address 
irregular migration and ensure our national security, the 
United States has led the largest expansion in decades of 
lawful pathways to the United States.
    So would you say that the increased migration across the 
Southern Border is a feature, not a bug?
    Ms. Youth. No. So lawful pathways is--are the pathways that 
people can use to arrive safely through the Southwest Border--
not through the Southwest Border--from----
    Mr. Bishop. That's not what I asked you, though.
    Ms. Youth. Yes.
    Mr. Bishop. What I asked you is, would you say that the 
increased flow across the border is a feature, not a bug, of 
the policies of the Biden administration?
    Ms. Youth. No, I wouldn't say that it's a feature.
    Mr. Bishop. Is it a failure of the Biden administration 
then?
    Ms. Youth. No, I wouldn't say that it's a failure. I would 
say that this is a symptom of something that is happening all 
over the world. There are more than----
    Mr. Bishop. Certainly not the fault of any Biden 
administration policy?
    Ms. Youth. There are 110 million people who are displaced 
globally, and 20 million of them are displaced in this region. 
This is something that we're seeing throughout the globe. Our 
European partners are also facing similar challenges. This is 
not something that is simply----
    Mr. Bishop. I know. We've seen what happens in Europe and 
elsewhere in the world when American leadership there fails, 
too. But that doesn't explain why we've had the massive numbers 
from the beginning of the Biden administration across the U.S. 
border.
    But I think you've hit on it, that the most significant 
expansion in so-called lawful pathways--let me ask you this 
question. Doesn't the Congress make the law?
    Ms. Youth. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Bishop. So the administration doesn't make law, does 
it?
    Ms. Youth. No, sir.
    Mr. Bishop. That's exactly right. I've run out of time.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields. We will perhaps have a 
second round of questioning, just to remind Members.
    I now recognize Mrs. Ramirez for 5 minutes for questioning.
    Mrs. Ramirez. Thank you, Chairman Higgins. It's good to be 
in this joint committee hearing. So I'm going to probably take 
it back a bit. I want to come back to the purpose of this 
hearing. That's really examining CBP One.
    I want to first acknowledge out of the guests and 
stakeholders who have already provided feedback on CBP One's 
functionality and accessibility, as well as DHS's attempts to 
respond to feedback.
    You know, being a millennial, we talk a lot about 
technology, and I know that including mobile apps, it can play 
a critical role in modernizing our systems if thoughtfully 
developed and deployed.
    However, in our search for border-processing solutions, I 
do worry sometimes we sacrifice our responsibility to uphold 
the rights and safety of asylum seekers and--if we don't have 
the adequate systems that promote equitable access to 
immigration options.
    Many issues with the CBP One app have been reported since 
its scheduling feature was rolled out. I've talked about it in 
a couple of the hearings here before.
    To name a few, the wait times to receive an appointment 
remain extremely long, and only a few ports of entry accept 
appointments, which has forced people, asylum seekers, to wait 
for months in Mexico, often in dangerous conditions and without 
the ability to support themselves.
    The app presents access issues for people who do not speak 
one of the three languages. As we know it's Spanish, I think, 
English, and Korean.
    For those that have low or no literacy or not 
technologically savvy, they may not have access to a smartphone 
or internet services. We've heard this before.
    We've talked about security concerns have been raised 
regarding exploitation by bad actors in the collection of 
sensitive and personal information.
    So for my first set of questions, though, I want to start 
with Ms. Sabatino. In 1 minute, could you please share with me, 
what are CBP's plans to further address functionality issues 
with CBP One and make access to CBP One appointments more 
equitable?
    As you're answering that, can you also follow up with what 
is CBP doing to further increase the number of daily available 
appointments?
    Ms. Sabatino. Thank you for the question. Certainly with 
respect to the enhancements in the application, there's been 30 
enhancements since this past summer, to ensure that bandwidth 
issues or other error messages have been mitigated.
    What's also been challenging with respect to the use of the 
CBP One app is the cyber threats that we're up against. We have 
a very comprehensive cyber strategy across CBP, not unique to 
CBP One, but we do encounter challenges, and we have made 
significant enhancements to that as well.
    With respect to the wait times for individuals in Mexico, 
it's averaging about 2\1/2\ months right now.
    We do have to take into consideration the operations at our 
ports of entry. We are not there just simply encountering 
inadmissible individuals who are attempting to enter the United 
States.
    We have the facilitation of lawful travel and trade. We 
also have to work outbound operations to interdict weapons and 
currency, and we have to make sure that we're intercepting 
narcotics, specifically fentanyl.
    So to ensure that we are not walking away from any of the 
missions, streamlining this process, ensuring that we get 
advance information to officers and automate it to the extent 
possible, but not also walk away from those other critical 
missions, we're not looking to expand the number of 
appointments----
    Mrs. Ramirez. So you're not looking--let me stop you there 
then because I want to--I just want to make sure I had that on 
record. So we're not going to be expanding. I'm sure my 
colleagues on the other side are excited about that.
    So we're saying--and you also said that it's taking about 
2\1/2\ months for people that are waiting in Mexico, those that 
already have those appointments and in some cases in really, 
really terrible conditions. We've read about that, and 
sometimes my colleagues, when they want to talk about caring 
about people, bring them up under the side.
    So let me stop and let me just go ahead and pivot for a 
minute here. I want to ask--and actually this question I'm 
going to ask of Ms. Meckley here.
    In 30 seconds--that's all I have--how has the agency, in 
your opinion, consulted with those directly impacted by CBP 
One? Border-enforcement efforts and those that are impacted, 
have you consulted with them as you're trying to make some of 
these many enhancements that folks talk about? In your opinion, 
can you give me a little bit of that?
    Ms. Meckley. Sure. When it comes to the ability to file--
for a supporter to file an I-134A on-line, we've integrated the 
entire system and experience between USCIS, and ICE--sorry--and 
CBP.
    There are parts of the process that USCIS is responsible 
for, in terms of reviewing that 134A, and if a supporter is 
found to have the financial and other support, you know, 
commitments and obligations are met, and that 134A is 
confirmed, then there is an exchange of information with CBP.
    So those systems----
    Mrs. Ramirez. My time is up. If we have another round, I'll 
follow up with you, but thank you.
    I yield back, Chairman.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentlelady yields. The gentleman from 
Mississippi, Mr. Ezell, is recognized for 5 minutes for 
questions.
    Mr. Ezell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for 
being here today in this very important matter. I appreciate 
that.
    I want to highlight, once again, how this administration is 
making it much easier for illegal immigrants to enter this 
country. This DHS has rolled out a phone CBP One app, and on 
this app, the immigrants, the migrants, enter a few details 
before they receive an appointment that is supposed to be a 
vetting process.
    Let me describe the details of this process. During this 
appointment, it's been reported by the Texas Monthly magazine, 
``After arriving for their appointments, they are not given an 
interview or asked no questions on the issues they submitted on 
the app or about why they are coming to the United States. They 
are simply released into the country''.
    I understand prior to their appointment, the information 
submitted is run through the U.S. criminal and national 
security databases. However, most of these individuals have 
never lived in the United States, so any crime would not be 
detected.
    Additionally, many of the migrants are attempting to come 
to the United States from countries that would never give us 
their criminal data, or from a country that doesn't even keep a 
criminal database.
    Being a law enforcement officer my entire life, I'm very 
familiar with running individuals, having been a chief of 
detectives, and a sheriff, and a chief of police. I know the 
only information that you get out of an NCIC, or a criminal 
history check, is something that has been entered into a 
database.
    I'd like a little more explanation, Ms. Sabatino, if you 
could talk to me a little bit about how intensive is this 
background, especially on somebody that's trying to deceive us 
or not give us proper information, or from a government that 
does not provide adequate information for us?
    Ms. Sabatino. Thank you for the question. In addition to 
the law enforcement database that we query against, we also 
leverage the watch list, travel data. I mentioned the criminal 
records that you referenced, NCICs.
    But we also have a derogatory photo index, that we match 
potentially their photos to, to identify individuals. But it 
really is important about the information sharing that we have, 
maybe not necessarily with the country the individual is coming 
from, but with a number of our other foreign partners.
    It is the information sharing across the hemisphere and 
globe frankly that makes us successful in identifying threats.
    But also there's a layer of, you know, partnering with the 
intelligence community to make sure that we have visibility on 
trends, identities, or issues, and then inform our CBP officers 
for the process.
    Again, why getting that advance information for our 
officers is so critical, that they have the time to actually 
assess and prepare for the individuals arriving at ports.
    Mr. Ezell. Do you really think we're getting enough 
information on this app to adequately--and I'll just open that 
up to everybody--are we getting enough information on this app 
to be able to really thoroughly vet these people before they 
get into the country?
    Ms. Sabatino. Thank you, sir. With respect to the 
information in the app, the biographic information, biometrics 
is also done through the app. The screening and matching 
against their facial derog.
    But I think we're always looking for more information 
across all of our operational environments, whether it be trade 
or passenger operations. I think the more information-sharing 
agreements that we can establish with our international 
partners, the better off we'll be.
    Mr. Ezell. What about developing sources, informants, that 
would help identify some of these folks that are coming over 
here? How well is that working for you these days?
    Ms. Sabatino. I think it's also important to note the over 
70 locations in 40 countries where we do have foreign-deployed 
CBP personnel that work directly with our foreign law 
enforcement partners, but not unique just to CBP. Certainly ICE 
has resources overseas, and this is this information-sharing 
network that we also leverage.
    Mr. Ezell. You know what we want here is a safe way to do 
this, and there's so many folks that are coming across this 
border, as we all know, and it's causing so many problems 
across the country.
    We've seen it on a daily basis, the crimes that have been 
committed, and we have got, as law enforcement, to step up, do 
everything within our power to make this happen so that we can 
protect Americans.
    Right now the American people are, on a daily basis, 
calling us, complaining, telling us that this border's not 
secure. I've been down there myself. I've talked to the 
officers down there myself.
    I'm told they're not being allowed to do their jobs. I'm 
told they're not being able to completely do the things that 
they were hired to do because they're having to do other 
duties.
    I think that we really need to, going forward, take this a 
little more seriously. I know that you're following the orders 
of this administration, but I think that at some point we've 
got to step up and say, Hey, hey, this is enough--and do our 
jobs.
    So thank you very much again for this time. I yield back.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields.
    I recognize Mr. Ivey, the gentleman from Maryland, for 5 
minutes for questions.
    Mr. Ivey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Hunter, you've testified in your original statement 
that CBP One helps to cut out smugglers, and I wanted to give 
you a chance to elaborate on that. How exactly does that work?
    Mr. Hunter. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. What we are 
doing through CBP One in the border environment, as the 
executive assistant commissioner has spoken to, is creating a 
scheduling tool that migrants themselves can access.
    So we're putting the power of determining where and when 
individuals present at a port of entry in the individual's 
hand. They are not relying on that smuggler to take them across 
between ports of entry.
    Further, because the app is accessible in Central and 
Northern Mexico, we don't need--and migrants themselves--don't 
need to congregate in dangerous locations proximate to the 
border or be waiting near in long lines outside of our ports of 
entry. They can be in another location and then come for their 
arrival at a scheduled and appointed time.
    Mr. Ivey. All right. I wanted to ask you another question 
as well. Is it true that if a migrant has been fully cleared as 
a rightful refugee, that he or she is coming into the country 
legally and not illegally?
    Mr. Hunter. Yes, Congressman. In our U.S. Refugee 
Admissions Program, those decisions are made overseas. We 
determine that an individual passes and qualifies as a refugee, 
and they are admitted as refugees.
    Mr. Ivey. All right.
    Mr. Hunter. Immigration status.
    Mr. Ivey. Commissioner Sabatino, I wanted to ask you about 
staffing. You have a pretty large domain that you preside over. 
I think you've been asked a question about staffing already, 
but I do want to get a better feel for it because we've got 
some provisions floating around, you know, potentially funding 
new positions.
    But the number I saw was, there's a shortage of 4,000 CBP 
officers. Is that correct?
    Ms. Sabatino. Thank you for the question. That number is 
absolutely based on our workload staffing model that identifies 
a need for approximately 4,000 CBP officers on the front line.
    Mr. Ivey. OK. I think there's also an issue about judges 
shortages too which I wanted to--oh, I'm sorry--officers 
examining asylum claims, and the number I have there is 800. Is 
that right?
    Mr. Hunter. That sounds about right, Congressman. We can 
certainly have our budget folks confirm those numbers.
    Mr. Ivey. OK. Then, you know, obviously these adding, you 
know, getting the number--I don't know if we're going to get to 
4,000 all at once--but adding those additional hires or even 
working our way toward it, what sort of assistance would that 
provide to you? How would that help you to address the issues 
at the border?
    Ms. Sabatino. Well, thank you for the question, 
Congressman. Certainly bringing on incrementally is the best 
effort for us in terms of feasibility because of the training 
requirements.
    But the resource support also for our mission-support 
personnel, our training capacity, technology is also--
investments in technology is very important to us.
    We do appreciate Congress' continued investment in 
nonintrusive inspection technology, again, all part of our 
modernization efforts to enhance operations at the border and, 
again, put our officers back to doing what they do best, which 
is situational awareness.
    Mr. Ivey. On the technology piece--and I appreciate you 
raising that--when we went down to the border, one of the 
issues that came up was drones, and what we were told by some 
of the officers was that the cartels were using drones, and 
they had more, and I guess better, than we do down there.
    Now, that was like 6 or 7 months ago that we were down 
there, maybe longer, but I wanted to get your sense of what 
you're seeing about drones, you know, and if we're able to 
match what the cartels are doing with those.
    Ms. Sabatino. I certainly would have to defer to the 
subject-matter expertise of our Office of Air and Marine 
Operations. Though there are very sophisticated efforts by the 
cartels to leverage drones, to counter our operations and 
smuggle things across the border.
    Mr. Ivey. OK. One other question too, I think with respect 
to judges--and that's the process of immigration judges, and 
that may be outside of your purview--but just from the 
standpoint of trying to expedite the process where these cases 
are resolved, so after they get from your baileywick and moved 
down the road, adding new judges, I mean, what kind of--do you 
know, if you know--what kind of backlog are they facing with 
respect to these cases, and, you know, what sort of additional 
resources would we need to address that?
    Mr. Hunter. Mr. Ranking Member, the immigration judges are 
with the Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration 
Review, but you are right to observe that there are millions of 
cases in backlog there, and that's why cases may take 5 to 8 
years.
    As you've invoked earlier, sir, the bipartisan Senate bill 
would give us new authorities and resources within the 
Department of Homeland Security and our asylum core to bring 
that time down, if fully implemented, to 6 or 7 months.
    Mr. Ivey. I apologize for running over, Mr. Chairman, but 
thank you, and I yield back.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields.
    I recognize Mr. Luttrell, the gentleman from Texas, for 5 
minutes.
    We're going to be calling recess after Mr. Luttrell's 
questioning--yes, we have time. After the gentleman from Texas 
questions, we're going to have to go into recess for votes.
    Mr. Luttrell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Hunter, I'm going to piggyback on what Mr. Ivey asked 
you about, about the smugglers and how the CBP One app--let's 
just make believe I've never been in a foreign country, 
operating in a threat environment, maybe in this same space.
    But can you assure us that--and I've been to Mexico quite a 
bit--can you assure us that those migrants that are coming up 
through the country, that are accessing the CBP One app are not 
in any way in a marshaling area, under command and control, and 
then handed their device to move forward and then tracked while 
they're in country for whatever reason, either a coordinated 
movement inside the country or a plot to do something specific?
    You know, my concern is, when it comes to the AI space and 
how--you know, you can say nefarious actors, you can say 
whatever you want, but that exists--so are we sure that the CBP 
One app is secured?
    Because I can assure you, if you tried hard enough, I could 
probably tell you every single phone number in your phone if 
you gave me about 30 minutes.
    Mr. Hunter. Thank you, Congressman, for the question. With 
the smugglers and the cartels, we in the Department will never 
say never because they are resourced, and they are motivated, 
and they are making a profit at the expense of migrants.
    What I can say is, what we are doing through CBP One is 
trying to cut out the smugglers at every step we can. So by 
putting more power in the hands of the individual migrants to 
schedule their appointment, we're taking that power away from 
the smuggling organizations who have tended to use large groups 
and to enter between ports of entry.
    So we're giving a pathway for migrants to have an 
alternative so they're not required to work with the smugglers 
on that irregular entry.
    Mr. Luttrell. Does it seem like the individuals that are 
coming through the port of entry on the CBP One app fall in any 
specific categories? Fighting-age males? Is this something that 
we're monitoring? Ms. Sabatino.
    Ms. Sabatino. Thank you for the question, but the 
demographics change, even port by port. We can certainly 
provide an overview of what the demographics are, and I think a 
fulsome briefing really on what the security measures are. It 
would probably take too long in this hearing, but to really 
walk through individually what those security measures are for 
the enhancement and to ensure like geolocation is only pinged 
to that phone when an individual, just to determine where they 
are at the time that they tried to opt in or schedule that 
appointment.
    Mr. Luttrell. OK. Ms. Meckley, can I make the assessment 
that you are the subject-matter expert on immigration and 
immigration policy?
    Ms. Meckley. I would not.
    Mr. Luttrell. Is anybody on that panel?
    Ms. Meckley. I would say Mr. Hunter.
    Mr. Luttrell. Would you? All right. Your lucky day, sir. My 
dear friend, Mrs. Ramirez, and I chat quite a bit, and I wish 
Mr. Garcia was here because he often holds up a white board 
with the immigration policy on it, and it's absolutely 
horrific.
    I'm curious if the Department, if anybody on your side has, 
in any way, tried to restructure the immigration policy so it 
is more streamlined to present to us in any recent memory? Or 
did she just completely throw you under the bus?
    Mr. Hunter. No, I'm happy to take the question, 
Congressman, and my colleagues from USCIS. If you're asking, 
Congressman, our immigration policies, our immigration law, our 
framework is complicated, is outdated, and is a patchwork.
    Mr. Luttrell. So are you telling me that or asking me?
    Mr. Hunter. No, I'm affirming that.
    Mr. Luttrell. OK, good, all right, we agree.
    Mr. Hunter. Yes--and has been outdated to provide the 
flexibility and tools that we need in the 21st Century.
    Mr. Luttrell. True. Are you waiting on us to write it up 
here, or are you guys going to----
    Mr. Hunter. Well, we have. So I know the President did 
submit a bill very early in the administration that outlined 
some reforms, and there was collaboration and technical 
assistance provided on the bipartisan Senate measure just 2 
months ago, which really squarely gets at this issue of the 
asylum backlog and the resources we need to bring that down, 
which will disincentivize people from arriving who have 
nonmeritorious claims.
    Mr. Luttrell. Well, just considering you and your 
organization and those underneath you--I may not be talking 
directly to the person, but I bet you know who it is. You are 
the subject-matter experts.
    Amongst everything else that we deal with in the House of 
Representatives, we look to you for answers and guidance. I 
think that's a fair assessment.
    It would be--and I am going to speak for Morgan on this 
one--if you came to my office with a revised immigration policy 
plan, I would be happy to look at it. I will walk across the 
hall to her office and say, what do you think? Then she and I 
would beat each other up, and then we would probably come to 
another agreement, come back and beat you up a little bit, and 
then the process is started, instead of us beating each other 
up every single, solitary day about immigration policy and 
border security, and then when we walk out of this meeting, 
nothing happens.
    But that time is--absolutely needs to go bye-bye. So I'm 
actually putting the basketball in your court, sir, and I'd be 
happy to revisit if you'd be happy to schedule a meeting with 
me and that young lady over there--I'm sorry, I'm speaking for 
you.
    You're welcome.
    Mr. Hunter. Congressman, we in the Department, would be 
delighted to----
    Mr. Luttrell. Perfect.
    Mr. Hunter [continuing]. Meet with you and other Members of 
the committee on substantive reform.
    Mr. Luttrell. Thank you.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields.
    I recognize Mr. Suozzi from New York for 5 minutes for 
questions, and then--and then the gentleman's name--he knows 
I'm from Louisiana. It's a difficult name.
    Mr. Suozzi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Luttrell, before you go, I want to be in on that 
meeting. I want to invite Mr. Bishop and Mr. Ivey as well to 
come to that meeting, and I want to use the bipartisan Senate 
bill as a framework for us to start our conversation.
    So you said, Mr. Hunter, in your testimony that you removed 
or returned nearly 600,000 individuals this year.
    Mr. Hunter. Congressman, thank you for the question. It's 
actually been more. It was 630,000 just in the past 10 months.
    Mr. Suozzi. So do you think that we could remove or return 
many, many more people if we had more border agents, more 
immigration judges, more detention beds, and revised policy as 
proposed in the Senate bipartisan bill?
    Mr. Hunter. Yes, Congressman. If there are more individuals 
who are not--who under their--excuse me--who do not have the 
legal basis to remain in the country, then we have the capacity 
to remove.
    Mr. Suozzi. So there are many people that don't have a 
legal basis to be here. We conjecture, based upon the fact that 
you said earlier 70 percent of the people would be denied 
asylum if they were properly processed.
    I've numbers as high as 80 or 90 percent. So, you know, we 
keep on hearing about the 5,000 people a day, 5,000 people a 
day. We don't want 5,000 people a day coming under the 
bipartisan Senate proposal.
    But those would be 5,000 applicants for asylum. If they 
were properly processed, with the proper number of immigration 
judges, proper number of border security agents, proper number 
of detention beds, and revised policy that's been proposed in 
the bipartisan Senate proposal, then 90 percent of those 
5,000--let's say 80 percent or 70 percent, using your number 
before, but I've heard 90 percent--would be, in fact, returned 
within 6 months instead of going through a 3-year, 4-year, 5-
year, 8-year process. Is that correct?
    Mr. Hunter. Generally speaking, Congressman, that's my 
understanding.
    Mr. Suozzi. So unlike what Mr. Bishop said before, the 
purpose of processing more people is not to let more people 
into the country. The purpose of processing more cases with 
more judges, more border security agents, more detention beds, 
and a better process is to actually deny the cases that will 
ultimately be denied but now takes 3, 5, 9 years to get done.
    If we did it in 6 months, 70 to 90 percent of those people 
would be returned in a very short period of time and would 
never be released into the country, because they'd actually be 
processed at the facility while staying in detention 
facilities. Is that correct?
    Mr. Hunter. So, Congressman, what I'd underscore is, you 
know, we value our ability to welcome and accept asylum in this 
country----
    Mr. Suozzi. We all do, we all do, but right now that system 
is being corrupted by the cartels that we hear about all the 
time, people that are getting paid $7- to $10,000 per person in 
a multi-billion enterprise, and they are corrupting our system 
by telling people, Hey, make sure you say this, make sure you 
say that.
    Then because of our wonderful nature of the United States 
of America, these people are being put through a process, but 
that process is taking too damn long. It's taking 3 years, 5 
years, 9 years.
    We want to fix that process--instead of just arguing about 
it here, we want to fix that process, we want to process the 
cases, and we want to return 70 to 90 percent of the people in 
a short period of time.
    So I want to take Mr. Luttrell up. I want to invite Mr. 
Bishop. I want to invite Mr. Ivey. I want to invite anybody 
else who wants to come. Let's start with the Senate bipartisan 
compromise that was negotiated by Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Murphy 
and a wonderful gentleman from Oklahoma, who I think is very 
conservative, ethical, honest, and hardworking, Mr. Lankford. 
Let's use that as a basis, and let's use that framework that 
was negotiated over a 4-month period, and let's find an answer 
to this problem.
    Instead of just fighting about it over and over again, 
let's actually do our jobs and fix it, and let's process these 
cases, deport the people that should be deported and treat the 
other people that deserve to come to the United States of 
America under our historic generosity to the world, and let 
them in.
    But the rest of them, let's stop them from breaking the 
rules, and let's get them out. But to do that, Ms. Sabatino 
needs the resources, Ms. Meckley needs the resources, the 
Department of State needs the resources, you need the 
resources.
    You need border agents, you need immigration judges, you 
need detention beds, and you need a refined process that will 
stop people from breaking the system, breaking the rules.
    So we can do it. It's pretty straightforward. I'm new to 
Congress, I just got here recently, but I've been watching TV, 
and we're all freaking out when we see what's going on at the 
border, all these people coming every day. It's driving us 
crazy. People are freaking out.
    Democrats and Republicans and independents are worried 
about the broken system, and it's because of the fact--not 
because Joe Biden and the Executive--COVID's over. There was a 
surge before COVID under President Trump if you remember. 
Remember the whole thing with kids in the cages and stuff? 
There was a surge before COVID. It went down during COVID. 
There was a surge again once COVID was relieved.
    There's more refugees in the world as Ms. Youth pointed 
out. There's 110 million refugees, displaced persons, and 
asylum seekers, in the world now, the biggest number since 
World War II by quadruple.
    People are fleeing misery, and they'll do whatever it takes 
to try to come to the greatest country in the world, the United 
States of America.
    We got to fix the process that's designed to deal with 
400,000 people a year, not 2\1/2\ million people a year. Let's 
work together. Let's fix the problem. Let's do our jobs.
    Thank you very much for your testimony today. I appreciate 
you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Higgins. The committee going to go into recess, and 
we'll reconvene 5 minutes after votes for Members who return. 
We thank the panelists for your patience. The committee is now 
in recess.
    [Recess.]
    [5:22 p.m.]
    Mr. Higgins. The committee is reconvened. Thank you for 
your patience. Ladies and gentlemen, you've been quite tolerant 
of the impossible-to-anticipate, House voting schedule.
    My colleague, Mr. Brecheen is recognized for 5 minutes for 
questioning.
    Mr. Brecheen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    So something we've gone down before, talking about the CBP 
One app, it was created of course in 2020, in October, and then 
the app was utilized by this administration to be increased.
    Originally the app was to alleviate the wait times for 
cargo inspection at ports, but then Secretary Mayorkas, Mr. 
Hunter, made the decision to let aliens schedule border 
appointments with the app, starting in 2022, 2023. Over 95 
percent now of the 459,000 aliens who have arrived at port of 
entry have been paroled and released into the country--95 
percent of those who apply. That's important to note.
    In addition, CBP One has been used to fly 386,000 foreign 
nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela into U.S. 
airports.
    I want to just pause, because I think when the news of this 
last couple weeks broke that 386,000 foreign nationals from 
Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, got on a plane, flown into 
the United States, I think Democrat, Republican, the average 
American said, You've got to be kidding me.
    Secretary Mayorkas claims that this wide-spread use of the 
CBP One app is good because it supposedly reduces illegal 
border crossings. In reality, the Biden administration is 
simply shifting the flow of illegals from between ports of 
entry to this new process, this, quote, modern process.
    Let's really be clear. We're talking about inadmissible 
aliens. Just think about the term. You guys use it. I know 
you're using the term ``migrant'' also often a lot.
    I'm not trying to be flippant. I think it's really sad that 
we've moved to a place, we're trying to confuse the American 
people and call these people migrants.
    Mr. Hunter, no offense intended, but I think it's really 
sad that we're wordsmithing. They're illegal aliens. You guys 
still continue to use the word ``inadmissible'' because that's 
supposed to mean something. This is illegal.
    So to talk about how the CBP One app has caused people not 
to go to ports of entry and what--many times they were being 
turned away. Now they're not. Ninety-five percent of those who 
use the app are released into the United States.
    Just compare some year differences. Those who used to go to 
the ports of entry that were inadmissible aliens, 115,000 per 
month now in 2024, compared to 20,000 in 2020. So 115,000 now 
are going to the ports of entry compared to 20,000 in 2020. 
Why? Because of the marketing campaign of the Biden 
administration.
    When we use the term, there's, you know, 110 million 
migrants, somebody tell me the tsunami that hit South America 
that I missed that was in the news.
    I tell you what's happened. Man, it's hard not to be 
flippant when you just--the American people know that they are 
being hoodwinked by this administration on this, y'all.
    There wasn't--there's not 110 million--that's one-third of 
the population of the United States, migrants that have had 
this migrant--they're coming because President Biden put a 
marketing campaign out when he took office and said, come on in 
illegally. That's truth.
    There's not been this massive hurricane that's hit South 
America. South America's not under water. People are coming 
here because our laws are not standing for truth anymore.
    All right. Ms. Meckley, under the CHNV parole program, U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services States that after an alien 
receives advance travel authorization to the United States, the 
alien is responsible for securing their own travel via air to 
international airport--to the international airport in the 
United States.
    How does the U.S. Government determine who provides the 
funding for aliens' airfare to the United States?
    Let me ask it a different way. We've got NGO's, 
nongovernment organizations, that are helping people break the 
laws. It's ridiculous.
    Can you guarantee this body that funding from the U.S. 
taxpayer, through NGO's, is not helping sponsor people? The 
386,000 people that have been flown into the interior of the 
United States, can you guarantee this body, U.S. taxpayers, in 
addition to this madness of them not doing regular process, 
flown in from their country into the United States, that the 
U.S. taxpayer inadvertently through NGO's is not paying for 
that?
    Ms. Meckley. Sir, my role at USCIS is to oversee the 
reviews of the I-134A process. So I am responsible for the 
execution of that part of helping facilitate the information 
getting to CBP for them to make the parole determinations.
    As we do that, when we review the 134A, part of that review 
is looking at evidence for how the supporter will provide 
financial and other support to that beneficiary should CBP 
decide to parole that individual into the United States.
    Mr. Brecheen. I need to do this just because of my time. 
Yes or no, can you guarantee the taxpayer that they're not 
footing the bill for bringing these--for the flight cost of 
bringing these people in through NGO's?
    Ms. Meckley. Sir, I don't know whether or not it is. As I'm 
saying, is we review the 134A, and they have to provide 
financial documentation that says they can support that 
individual during and throughout the parole validity period.
    Mr. Brecheen. Yes.
    Mr. Chairman, I'm going to yield back to you, but I'll just 
note that there's no confidence in this administration that NGO 
funding, that the taxpayer is not picking up the $500 to $1,000 
per flight expense to fly them in also.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields.
    The gentleman, our colleague, Mr. Crane, is recognized for 
5 minutes for questioning.
    Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I want to start with you, Mr. Hunter. You made some 
statements today talking about the causation of this crisis 
that we see at our Southern Border. You cited poverty, 
corruption, climate change, to name a few. Is that correct?
    I want to run by some actual quotes from President Biden 
for you real quick. On September 12, 2019, then-candidate Biden 
said, We're a Nation who says if you want to flee and you're 
fleeing oppression, you should come.
    Did you hear him say that, sir? Yes or no?
    Mr. Hunter. I didn't specifically hear that quote.
    Mr. Crane. OK. Thank you. On June 27, 2019, candidate 
Biden: Those who come seeking asylum, we should immediately 
have the capacity to absorb them, keep them safe.
    Did you hear him say that?
    Mr. Hunter. I don't specifically recall that quote, sir.
    Mr. Crane. OK. Would you agree with those statements, 
though, that we should absorb them, that we should have the 
capacity to absorb them, we should do that?
    Mr. Hunter. Congressman, we're required under law to 
inspect individuals who present, and individuals do have the 
right to seek asylum in the United States.
    Mr. Crane. So would you alter--would you add that to your 
list now that we've gone over that, that it wasn't just pot--
it's not poverty, corruption, climate change, a tsunami, like 
my friend here, Mr. Brecheen was talking about?
    Do you think that 1 of 2 people that could've been the 
President of the United States, the leader of the free world, 
saying that to the entire country and to the entire world 
during, you know, a television hearing, do you think that had 
anything to do with what we're seeing now at the Southern 
Border?
    Mr. Hunter. Congressman, it sounds like there is a 
recognition that there are people who are fleeing persecution, 
and in my reference to the particular governments--Cuba, 
Nicaragua, and Venezuela--there are individuals who are fleeing 
persecution under those regimes.
    Mr. Crane. OK. So--but it does--one of the leaders of the 
free world said, Hey, if you want to come here, you should 
come, right?
    So that's really what's really going on here. That's what 
my friend, Mr. Brecheen, was talking about. That's what many 
people are talking about up here. You know, this isn't the, you 
know, global climate movement that many of my colleagues on the 
other side are trying to make it out to be.
    A lot of what it is, is globalism, sir. There are a lot of 
people around the world that are very, very powerful, and they 
don't want anybody to have borders. They want globalism. World 
Economic Forum is one of them. That's what, unfortunately, what 
many of our leaders actually take their cue from.
    What do you guys have to say to Americans who are living in 
fear every day of another terrorist attack? Let's start with 
you, Ms. Sabatino.
    Ms. Sabatino. No. Thank you for the question.
    We invest significant resources, starting with our National 
Targeting Center, which also plays a significant role in the 
screening and vetting of individuals, whether they are through 
these processes or any individuals arriving to the United 
States.
    Mr. Crane. What do you guys have to say to Americans who 
have seen their schools, hospitals, and community spaces 
overtaken by migrants?
    Do you guys--you get a chance. You are on TV right now. Do 
you guys have anything to say to them?
    What about do you have anything to say to Americans who are 
afraid that the cartels are taking over their towns?
    How about anything to say to Americans who have lost their 
children to fentanyl? Do you have anything to say to them?
    Go ahead, Mr. Hunter.
    Mr. Hunter. Congressman, in regards to the irregular 
migration challenges, it is a singular focus of our Department 
to reduce irregular migration in the hemisphere and unlawful 
entry.
    Mr. Crane. OK, well, thank you for that, but you are doing 
a horrible job, and the American people know it. OK? I mean, 
you guys are doing the worst job in the history of this 
country. So the fact that you even answered that as if that's 
your responsibility just it shows me--tells me how detached 
from reality you absolutely are.
    Mr. Hunter, where were you on 9/11, sir? Do you remember 
where you were?
    Mr. Hunter. I do, indeed, Congressman. I was working in 
Washington, DC, at a NGO on Dupont Circle at the time.
    Mr. Crane. What about you, Ms. Sabatino? Where were you?
    Ms. Sabatino. I was an immigration inspector at John F. 
Kennedy International Airport.
    Mr. Crane. You remember exactly where you were that day?
    Ms. Sabatino. I do.
    Mr. Crane. Ma'am, what about you? Do you remember?
    Ms. Meckley. Yes. I worked for the executive office for the 
U.S. Attorney's Department of Justice.
    Mr. Crane. Ms. Youth.
    Ms. Youth. I was serving in Madrid at the time, but I was 
in Geneva at a training.
    Mr. Crane. OK.
    Well, the reason I asked you guys that, do you remember 
what Americans were saying right after that? Do you remember 
what Americans were saying? Do you remember them saying, never 
again? We're never going to let this happen again? Do you guys 
remember that? Yes or no?
    Go ahead, Ms. Youth. Do you remember Americans saying that?
    Ms. Youth. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Crane. Ms. Meckley.
    Ms. Meckley. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Crane. Ms. Sabatino.
    Ms. Sabatino. Yes.
    Mr. Crane. Well, guess what, guys? It is going to happen 
again. It is not a question of if. It is a question of when. 
For every one of you guys that have sat by and supported these 
policies and these tools that we are talking about today that 
have allowed an expedited--this mass migration into the United 
States, you are going to share a little bit of that ownership. 
All right?
    That changed so many of our lives forever. We said never 
again. Here we are implementing policies and tools that are 
making it so easy for individuals who don't love this country, 
who want to do harm to this country--and we are not talking 
about everybody. We know there are plenty of people who just 
want to come here for a better life. But you guys all know 
there are plenty of people in this country right now that want 
to do Americans harm.
    This is my question for you, and we don't have time to 
answer it. But I want you to think about this. When the next 
major attack like 9/11 or a series of 9/11s happen in this 
country, will you still continue to support these policies and 
these tools? Because we're not going to forget it.
    We're not going to forget who was at the helm. We're not 
going to forget who was in these positions. We're not going to 
forget the policies. We're not going to forget the tools, and 
we're not going to forget the committee hearings like we had 
today where you guys could have condoned this administration 
and you guys didn't. All right.
    Thank you. I yield back.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentleman yields.
    The gentlewoman, Ms. Greene, is recognized for 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Ms. Greene. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you, Mr. Crane, for pointing out the most important 
things that people outside of this city talk about.
    While you all are paid with a taxpayer-funded paycheck, I 
want you to know that most Americans are concerned exactly 
about what Mr. Crane talked about.
    There's also many Americans, like in my home State of 
Georgia, that are still grieving the death of a young woman 
named Laken Riley who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien 
that came into this country in Venezuela, who had injured a 
child in New York and was not deported.
    In my district, fentanyl is a real problem. It's a serious 
problem. Fentanyl doesn't discriminate based on politics or 
identity, sexual orientation, or race. Fentanyl is killing 
people every single day.
    It's also something that's extremely concerning for 
everyone in my district. This is such an outrage to most 
Americans. Again, they pay all of our paychecks with their 
hard-earned tax dollars that our country is under invasion. It 
is an invasion.
    Now, while we believe that people should legally immigrate 
to America and follow the laws, all of our laws are being 
completely broken. The fact that over 10 million people have 
come into our country, and there are 2 million gotaways on your 
watch, 2 million gotaways that are capable of doing something 
like Mr. Crane just talked about, a terrorist attack or the 
daily crime committed against innocent Americans, whether it's 
a tragic car accident that kills Americans in the car, whether 
it is a fentanyl poisoning, a murder that comes--the fentanyl 
comes from China to Mexico and come into our country, or 
whether it's a brutal murder like what happened to Laken Riley, 
it's happening every single day.
    The CBP One app is the most fascinating thing to me. While 
Congress just banned TikTok, we have this app that our 
Government funds that shocking statistics, more than 459,000 
individuals have scheduled Southwest Border appointments with 
the CBP One app since January 2023, and 96 percent of those 
scheduled appointments with the app were issued and a notice to 
appear and paroled into the country. Ninety-six percent.
    The CBP One app is like a welcoming app. Welcome to 
America. Come on in.
    You aren't vetting people. We've heard from witnesses 
before our committee. We heard from one mother whose daughter 
was horrifically raped and murdered, and the man that raped and 
murdered her daughter had gang tattoos, cartel tattoos all over 
him. He was allowed in the country, and he brutally raped and 
murdered her daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend still has 
the voicemail on his phone of her last 2 minutes of life while 
she was calling him in panic. That voicemail is her being raped 
and murdered.
    This is what our country is dealing with, and it seems to 
fall on deaf ears when we talk to witnesses like you. It's 
unbelievable.
    Ms. Sabatino, according to DHS, applicants for the CHNV 
program, ``undergo a clear and robust security vetting''. A 
clear and robust security vetting. In order to obtain advance 
travel authorization through CHNV parole program, an individual 
provides biometric information, including a photograph using 
the CBP One app.
    Now, on our committee--well, they're all gone--there are 
Democrats that assigned a letter, literally signed a letter 
saying that it's unfair, completely unfair that transgender 
migrants have to provide a photo. That's unfair to them, and 
they would like to take away the photo requirement on the CBP 
One app.
    Are all individuals in the CHNV parole process required to 
submit biographical information through CBP One?
    Ms. Sabatino. Biographic and biometric. It's the photo.
    Ms. Greene. Can you imagine not having a photo?
    Ms. Sabatino. The facial biometric matching is a 
significant security enhancement to the CBP One app.
    Ms. Greene. Are you keeping criminals out of our country 
with the CBP One app?
    Ms. Sabatino. The CBP One app really is just a tool to move 
the information, but we are taking the biographic and biometric 
information and matching it against watch list, our law 
enforcement databases, travel data, criminal records, as well 
as our derogatory photo index.
    Ms. Greene. So do you sleep good at night? Like, do you 
know for a fact that you're keeping these criminals out of our 
country with the CBP One app? You're confident that you're 
keeping out rapists, murderers, cartel members, terrorists? 
You're confident that you're keeping them out of our country?
    Ms. Sabatino. Congresswoman, as a 26-year career employee, 
I'm very well aware of the challenges that we are up against, 
and I sleep well knowing that our CBP officers and front-line 
personnel are doing their level best to protect the American 
communities.
    Ms. Greene. So the CBP One app processes the information 
and expedites people from over 160 countries around the world 
into our country, and you sleep good at night, and you're 
confident in the CBP One app?
    Ms. Sabatino. The CBP One app doesn't expedite individuals. 
It actually affords advance information to our officers to do 
that robust vetting and screening and the facial--obtaining the 
photos to do the facial biometric match to our derog index.
    Ms. Greene. So you don't think already having the 
information in an app with the photo when the migrants can come 
and pick a--select a date and time to come meet with Border 
Patrol, that doesn't expedite the process? You're saying that's 
not an expedition of the process?
    Ms. Sabatino. I think I can highlight a number of instances 
over the last 10 years where migrants showing up at our ports 
of entry without any advance information quickly overwhelm our 
teams and then redirect our teams from doing things like 
interdicting fentanyl or outbound operations, seizing weapons 
and currency that funds the cartels.
    We have a lot of different disciplines and responsibilities 
at the ports of entry. Without that streamlined process, we 
would be solely focused on processing individuals who are 
required to afford the opportunity to request asylum at our 
ports of entry.
    Ms. Greene. Sure. So maybe thousands of people showing up 
at one time at a port of entry or at the border along the way 
would be considered an invasion. That's what most Americans are 
calling it.
    Most Americans are against the fact that their taxpayer 
dollars are having to pay for a handy dandy app that people can 
download and enter the information so they can be expedited 
into America. It's outrageous.
    Mr. Chairman, I am going to go ahead and yield. Thank you.
    Mr. Higgins. The gentlelady yields.
    The Chair has been quite generous with time today to both 
sides of the aisle. I'm happy to recognize the Ranking Member.
    Mr. Correa. I'm going to pass.
    Mr. Higgins. Any response?
    We have agreed to submit further questions in writing, 
panelists, out of respect for your time. You've been here all 
day and quite patient with interruptions of anticipated 
schedule.
    So I thank the witnesses for their testimony and the 
Members for their questions. The Members of the subcommittees 
may have additional questions for the witnesses, and we would 
ask the witnesses to respond to these in writing.
    Pursuant to committee rule VII(D), the hearing record will 
be held open for 10 days.
    Without objection, the subcommittees stand adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 5:42 p.m., the subcommittees were 
adjourned.]



                           A P P E N D I X  I

                              ----------                              

       Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green, MD for Adam Hunter
    Question 1. Who made the decision to transition the CBP One app 
from a commercial application to a migrant/immigration processing tool? 
Was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Strategy, 
Policy, and Plans included in discussions with Secretary Mayorkas on 
the expansion of CBP One?
    Answer. On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) announced new border enforcement measures, to include 
the use of the CBP One mobile application for noncitizens to schedule 
appointments to present themselves at ports of entry (POEs), 
facilitating a safe, orderly, and lawful migration management process. 
Initially, DHS used this functionality for noncitizens seeking a 
humanitarian exception to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention's (CDC) Title 42 public health order. Once Title 42 ended by 
operation of law on May 12, 2023, noncitizens seeking entry to the 
United States were able to use CBP One to schedule an appointment to 
present at certain POEs across the Southwest Border (SWB) to help 
ensure safe and orderly processing. This decision was made by 
Department leadership in coordination with all impacted offices, 
including the DHS Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans. The advance 
biographic and biometric information the noncitizens provide in CBP One 
to secure their appointment allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) to streamline their screening and vetting processes of these 
noncitizens at POEs. The efficiency gained by noncitizens' use of the 
CBP One scheduling function allowed CBP to significantly expand its 
capacity to process noncitizens more efficiently at land POEs on the 
SWB compared to pre-pandemic processing.
    Question 2a. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regularly puts out 
English tweets about the consequences for coming to the United States 
illegally. However, in a Spanish interview with Univision Miami, 
Assistant Secretary Nunez-Neto seemed intent on letting the audience 
know that the ``lottery'' (meaning CBP One) will give people hope that 
their application will be reviewed, and that this application will 
allow them to get into the United States faster. Does the Department's 
messaging to illegal aliens regularly expressing the ease in which 
aliens can ``schedule'' their arrival in the United States with the 
app, act as a pull factor or an invitation for illegal migration?
    Question 2b. Since January 2023, how many aliens, who use the CBP 
One app to schedule their arrival at a Southwest Border port of entry, 
also apply for and are qualified to receive asylum?
    Answer. CBP One is used only as a scheduling tool for those who 
have decided to seek admission at a port of entry (POE). The 
application is not a tool to request parole or claim asylum, nor is it 
used to screen, inspect, or process noncitizens for entry to the United 
States. The tool simply allows individuals of any nationality who in 
certain parts of Mexico to schedule an appointment to present 
themselves at a designated land POE. The advance biographic and 
biometric information that individuals provide in CBP One to secure 
their appointment allows CBP to streamline its screening and vetting 
processes at the POE, where the noncitizens may then be placed into 
immigration proceedings. The noncitizen may seek asylum during the 
course of their immigration proceedings, where their asylum claim will 
be evaluated.
    DHS has been clear--there are safe, lawful, and orderly pathways to 
come to the United States, and consequences for those who do not use 
them. Those who come lawfully will be able to stay in the United States 
for the time that they are authorized to be here and may be granted 
employment authorization, while those who come unlawfully will be 
subject to strengthened consequences and may be quickly removed. From 
May 12, 2023 to April 3, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 660,000 
individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the SWB, including more 
than 102,000 individuals who arrived as members of family units or 
groups. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and 
returns in every full fiscal year since 2011.
          Questions From Chairman Clay Higgins for Adam Hunter
    Question 1. DHS initially launched CBP One in 2020 to streamline 
inspections of commercial goods, such as perishable cargo. However, in 
2023 the Biden administration decided to expand CBP One's capabilities 
that would attract an unlimited number of inadmissible aliens to the 
United States. Why did the Department decide to open the flood gates to 
include appointments for these inadmissible aliens?
    Answer. The advance biographic and biometric information 
individuals provide in CBP One to secure their appointment allows CBP 
to streamline its processing at the border, including screening and 
vetting processes. The efficiency gained by noncitizens' use of the CBP 
One scheduling function, as opposed to simply presenting themselves to 
seek admission, has allowed CBP to significantly expand its capacity to 
process noncitizens more efficiently at land POEs on the SWB compared 
to pre-pandemic processing.
    DHS has been clear--there are safe, lawful, and orderly pathways 
and processes to come to the United States, and consequences for those 
who do not use them. Those who come lawfully will be able to stay in 
the United States for the time that they are authorized to be here and 
may be granted employment authorization, while those who come 
unlawfully will be subject to strengthened consequences and quickly 
removed.
    Question 2a. Aliens are generally inadmissible to the United States 
based on certain health-related grounds (INA 212(a)) and by law, aliens 
are generally required to undergo a medical examination before entering 
the United States. Are aliens who use CBP One to either schedule an 
appointment at a port of entry or who are part of the Cuban, Haitian, 
Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole program required to undergo 
medical examinations and a vaccination report?
    Question 2b. If so, please describe the extent of the examination 
and vaccination report.
    Answer. Before traveling to the United States, noncitizens using 
the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole processes 
must comply with established requirements, including vaccination 
requirements and other public health guidelines, and confirm that they 
meet public health requirements. Noncitizens seeking travel 
authorization through the CHNV processes must attest as part of the 
process that they have completed vaccine requirements or are eligible 
for an exception to vaccine requirements for measles, polio, and the 
first dose of COVID-19 vaccine approved or authorized by the U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration or Emergency Use Listed by the World Health 
Organization. Within 90 days of arrival to the United States, 
noncitizens seeking travel authorization through the CHNV processes 
must attest that they have undergone screening for tuberculosis. CBP 
One is merely a scheduling tool, and is not used to screen, inspect, or 
process noncitizens for entry into the United States; noncitizens who 
present at the POE with or without a CBP One appointment undergo Office 
of Field Operations processing at the POE.
       Questions From Vice Chairman Michael Guest for Adam Hunter
    Question 1a. In October 2023, the committee received information on 
CBP One after multiple requests and the threat of a subpoena. These 
documents revealed that nearly 96 percent of inadmissible aliens who 
scheduled appointments to present at Southwest Border ports of entry 
were issued a Notice to Appear and released into the United States on 
parole.
    Why were nearly 96 percent of those who made appointments at 1 of 
the 8 Southwest Border ports of entry paroled, rather than placed into 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for detention?
    Answer. Upon arrival at the POE, individuals are inspected by CBP 
and required to submit additional information, to include fingerprints, 
for further biometric vetting. CBP officers retain discretion to 
determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not each noncitizen is 
eligible for parole or another lawful pathway. Noncitizens who are 
determined to pose a potential national security or public safety 
threat, or otherwise do not warrant parole as a matter of discretion 
upon inspection, will be processed under an appropriate processing 
pathway and may be referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
(ICE) for a custody determination.
    Question 1b. What are the determining factors for placing an 
individual on a ``case-by-case'' basis on parole given that nearly 96 
percent of those who made appointments were paroled?
    Answer. Noncitizens encountered by CBP are processed under Title 8 
authorities as required by law. CBP officers retain discretion to 
determine eligibility for parole on a case-by-case basis given the 
totality of the circumstances presented in each individual case. 
Noncitizens are vetted and screened using information available at that 
time to identify potential threats to national security or public 
safety. As noted above, those determined to pose a potential threat, or 
who otherwise do not warrant parole as a matter of discretion, will be 
processed under an appropriate processing pathway and may be referred 
to ICE for a custody determination.
    Question 1c. How many aliens of the 96 percent who were granted 
entry into the United States via the app, claimed asylum after they 
arrived at a port of entry?
    Answer. As noted above, CBP One is used only as a scheduling tool. 
The application is not a tool to request parole or claim asylum, nor is 
it used to screen, inspect, or process noncitizens for entry to the 
United States. The tool simply allows individuals of any nationality 
who are in certain parts of Mexico to schedule an appointment to 
present themselves at a designated land POE. The advance biographic and 
biometric information individuals provide in CBP One to secure their 
appointment allows CBP to streamline its processing at the border, 
including screening and vetting processes. The efficiency gained by 
noncitizens' use of the CBP One scheduling functionality has allowed 
CBP to significantly expand its capacity to process noncitizens more 
efficiently at land POEs on the SWB compared to pre-pandemic 
processing. As noted above, noncitizens who present with CBP One 
appointments are placed in immigration proceedings. Those who are 
issued Notices to Appear in removal proceedings or who receive a 
positive fear determination from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) would present any requests for relief--such as 
asylum--to the immigration judge. Accordingly, questions regarding the 
number of individuals who eventually make such requests should be 
directed to the U.S. Department of Justice.
      Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Adam Hunter
    Question 1. Mr. Hunter, it's been suggested that the U.S. 
Government is paying for the plane tickets of individuals granted 
parole through the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole 
program. As part of the parole process, the non-citizens of these 
countries who apply for parole through this program must have a U.S.-
based supporter confirmed by USCIS, and they must submit certain 
information to be screened and vetted to be considered for travel 
authorization.
    Can you confirm that once an individual meets all the requirements 
of this program and is deemed safe for travel to the United States, 
that the individuals or their sponsors pay for the plane tickets to 
travel to the United States and that the U.S. Government does not pay 
for these plane tickets?
    Answer. If approved to travel to the United States through the CHNV 
parole processes, individuals are responsible for arranging their own 
travel via air to an interior POE in the United States, rather than 
arriving at the SWB. The U.S. Government does not pay or arrange travel 
for noncitizens to the United States through the CHNV parole process.
    Question 2a. For all witnesses, as we face the largest global mass 
migration of individuals this world has ever seen the strength of our 
global partnerships has never been more important. This is not just a 
U.S. issue, it's a global issue. Shared challenges require shared 
solutions, and we must continue to work with our partners around the 
globe to address the migration issues we are seeing. We also know that 
with these challenges the risk to our national security is elevated. We 
cannot forget that the 9/11 hijackers were here in the United States on 
tourist and business visas and there has not been a terrorist attack on 
the United States from an undocumented migrant. We must look broader 
than the people asking for protection at our border. As we continue to 
use all of the tools in our toolkit to create a more humane, safe, and 
orderly immigration system, we must remain vigilant to maintain our 
national security.
    Can you describe what your agency partnerships are like with our 
closest partners in Mexico and Canada as well as with countries in the 
Western Hemisphere?
    Answer. DHS works with countries throughout the hemisphere--
including, but not limited to, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, 
Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama--to expand efforts to counter human 
smuggling organizations, humanely secure borders, share information, 
increase labor mobility, and expand protection and lawful pathways. The 
government of Mexico (GOM) continues to be a leader in the region when 
it comes to innovative and balanced efforts to manage migration. DHS 
developed an innovative approach that provided certain CHNV nationals 
with a safe, orderly way to come to the United States and imposed new 
consequences on those who crossed unlawfully. As a result of close 
coordination with the GOM, CHNV nationals who do not use these new 
processes and are encountered at the land border may be returned or 
removed to Mexico.
    In March 2023, the United States and Canada announced coordination 
on efforts to incentivize lawful migration processes and reduce 
irregular migration, including an Additional Protocol to the 2002 U.S.-
Canada Safe Third Country Agreement to reduce asylum claims between 
land POEs, expanding new lawful pathways to Canada, and investments in 
capacity-building and programming in the region to support migration 
management and humanitarian protection. DHS also launched a 2-month 
coordinated campaign with Panama and Colombia to deter the illicit 
movement of people through the Darien region. In addition, the United 
States has expanded lawful pathways to the United States and encouraged 
partner countries to do the same, disincentivizing tens of thousands of 
migrants and refugees from pursuing irregular migration via the Darien.
    In close coordination with the U.S. Department of State (DOS), DHS 
announced the Safe Mobility Initiative to establish offices in 
Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Ecuador that streamlines access to 
lawful pathways to the United States and other countries, including 
expedited refugee processing and various humanitarian and employment 
opportunities. Throughout the region, DHS and DOS are working 
bilaterally with numerous partner countries to encourage the 
strengthening of visa policies, better and more targeted screening of 
individuals flying into the hemisphere, and enhanced capture and 
exchange of biometric and biographic data. All these efforts, when 
taken together, represent significant strides in managing the 
extraordinary migration challenge that is facing this hemisphere.
    The United States remains committed to supporting our partners 
within Latin America and the Caribbean as they integrate millions of 
migrants, mostly Venezuelans. Partners throughout the region have 
offered legal status and integration opportunities to the more than 7.7 
million displaced Venezuelans who have fled their country, stabilizing 
them in the region and preventing further displacement or irregular 
movement to our border. The United States offers financial and 
technical assistance to receiving countries that have opened 
regularization opportunities to displaced migrants.
    Question 2b. Can you describe how these partnerships help 
strengthen our national security to help prevent another 9/11 from 
occurring on our soil again?
    Answer. DHS collaborates with international and Federal partners to 
deter irregular migration to ensure that the United States is sharing 
responsibility throughout the Western Hemisphere. DHS continues to 
build our partnerships with our foreign partners, to include increasing 
our information-sharing capabilities and providing capacity-building 
support. These efforts improve partners' ability to detect criminal and 
terrorists crossing borders, and improves DHS's ability to vet against 
foreign data. For example, through the International Biometric Data 
Sharing Program, DHS is able to conduct a biometric check against its 
foreign partners' biometric data to authenticate a traveler's identity 
and quickly receive immigration and criminal history information, as 
well as indications the individual may represent a national security 
threat. DHS is also working with governments in the Western Hemisphere 
to expand the Biometric Data Sharing Partnership, which improves a 
country's identity management capabilities and establishes biometric 
information sharing between DHS and the partner country. Through this 
initiative, DHS trains partners to collect data on migrants and to use 
data provided by DHS to help identify security risks. Information 
obtained through these initiatives and other operational partnerships 
with regional partners assist CBP in identifying and taking appropriate 
action against noncitizens who pose a national security or public 
safety threat, and support DHS investigations into transnational 
criminal activities.
    Questions From Vice Ranking Member Delia Ramirez for Adam Hunter
    Question 1a. Regarding the exception to the rebuttable presumption 
of asylum ineligibility that exists under the ``Circumvention of Lawful 
Pathways Final Rule'' for people who can demonstrate they are unable to 
access an appointment through CBP One: How many exceptions have been 
granted to date? Please provide the supporting data.
    Answer. In the credible fear context, an Asylum Officer determines 
whether there is a significant possibility that the noncitizen could 
establish that they are not subject to the ``Circumvention of Lawful 
Pathways'' Rule, or that they could establish an exception to or rebut 
the Rule's presumption of asylum ineligibility. USCIS does not track 
the specific exception or rebuttal ground a noncitizen is found to have 
demonstrated. However, since the Rule went into effect on May 12, 2023, 
up to April 30, 2024, USCIS found that 20,122 noncitizens in credible 
fear screenings demonstrated a significant possibility that they could 
establish an exception or rebut the presumption. The final 
determination on the application of the Rule's presumption of asylum 
ineligibility is made at the time the asylum application is 
adjudicated.
    Question 1b. What are DHS's criteria for granting the exception?
    Answer. Noncitizens who cross the Southwest land border or adjacent 
coastal borders of the United States without authorization after 
traveling through a third country will be presumed ineligible for 
asylum unless they, or a member of their family with whom they are 
traveling, meet one of the articulated exceptions:
   They were provided authorization to travel to the United 
        States pursuant to a DHS-approved parole process;
   They used the CBP One app to schedule a time and place to 
        present at a POE, or they presented at a POE without using the 
        CBP One app and established that it was not possible to access 
        or use the CBP One app due to a language barrier, illiteracy, 
        significant technical failure, or other on-going and serious 
        obstacle; or
   They applied for and were denied asylum in a third country 
        en route to the United States.
    Unaccompanied children are exempted from the rebuttable 
presumption.
    Noncitizens can rebut the presumption of asylum ineligibility in 
exceptionally compelling circumstances, including if they demonstrate 
that, at the time of their unauthorized entry, they or a member of 
their family with whom they were traveling:
   Faced an acute medical emergency;
   Faced an extreme and imminent threat to their life or 
        safety, such as an imminent threat of rape, kidnapping, 
        torture, or murder; or
   Were a victim of a severe form of trafficking, as defined in 
        8 CFR  214.1.
    Question 1c. How would someone demonstrate they were unable to 
access an appointment through CBP One? Would not speaking 1 of the 3 
languages available on the app or not having access to reliable 
internet service be sufficient evidence?
    Answer. As required by regulation, a noncitizen could only be 
eligible for this exception if they presented at a POE and could 
demonstrate that it was not possible to access or use the DHS 
scheduling system due to language barrier, illiteracy, significant 
technical failure, or other on-going and serious obstacle. The decision 
about whether an exception applies is made by DHS officials locally 
based on the totality of the circumstances and evidence presented.
    Question 2a. The wait times to receive a CBP One appointment remain 
extremely long and only a few ports of entry accept appointments, which 
has forced people to wait for months in Mexico, often in dangerous 
conditions and without the ability to support themselves.
    What is the United States Government's role in and strategy for 
ensuring the safety and protection of people waiting for a CBP One 
appointment?
    Answer. The U.S. Government continues to work with the GOM to 
promote the safety and protection of noncitizens waiting in Mexico for 
a CBP One appointment. Currently, 8 U.S. POEs are available for 
selection in CBP One to schedule an appointment.
    Question 2b. What insight does your agency have on the conditions 
that those who are waiting for an appointment encounter and endure 
while they stay in Mexico, particularly those who are not Mexican 
nationals?
    Question 2c. What coordination is occurring with the government of 
Mexico to meet the needs of those who are waiting for a CPB One 
appointment?
    Answer. DHS respectfully defers to DOS.
    Question 3. How has your agency consulted with those who have used 
or could use CBP One to enter the United States, as well as with 
immigration advocates and services providers, to inform the development 
of CBP One and U.S. border enforcement efforts? How is your agency 
engaging with those directly impacted to optimize the app and inform 
migration policies going forward?
    Answer. DHS engages extensively at the State and local levels, 
including with law enforcement entities, public health authorities, and 
nongovernmental organizations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Texas, as well as other locations as needed. This regular coordination 
includes focusing on local transport and capacity planning, resolving 
logistical challenges, addressing community concerns, and hearing 
feedback on CBP One and issues impacting POEs.
      Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green, MD for Diane Sabatino
    Question 1a. One function of CBP One is to facilitate the Advance 
Travel Authorization (ATA) for aliens who apply for parole through the 
CHNV (Cubans, Haitians, Ncaraguans, and Venezuelans) parole program. If 
granted, this travel authorization allows aliens to fly directly into 
U.S. airports to be processed for parole.
    From January 2023 to now, how many aliens have been granted advance 
travel authorization through the CHNV parole program?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. According to data received from the Department, from 
October 2022 through June 2023, the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) granted parole to 97.5 percent of CHNV applicants. Of the roughly 
2.5 percent of CHNV applicants that were denied parole, can you testify 
that each CHNV applicant that was denied parole has been removed from 
the country and has not re-entered?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1c. What are Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) 
procedures to screen and vet CHNV applicants prior to the issuance of 
an advance travel authorization?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1d. When CBP is evaluating CHNV applicants, how does CBP 
determine an applicant's criminal history?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
        Questions From Chairman Clay Higgins for Diane Sabatino
    Question 1a. Despite the app's original intent, cartels have turned 
CBP One into a lucrative tool, demonstrating the need for continued 
vigilance and adaptive security measures.
    What are the current security vulnerabilities in the CBP One app?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. According to several Border Patrol Chiefs, the cartels 
control the Southwest Border. Is it true that cartels are capitalizing 
on the app by facilitating entry and charging fees for their services?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1c. What is CBP doing to combat the cartels from 
exploiting the CBP One app?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2a. According to CBP's website, foreign nationals 
``located in Central or Northern Mexico . . . may use the CBP One app 
to submit information in advance and schedule an appointment to present 
themselves at . . . Southwest Border land ports of entry (POEs).'' Is 
CBP more concerned with facilitating mass parole or the immigration 
laws passed by Congress?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2b. Can you confirm to the American people that CBP hasn't 
encountered criminals, gang members, or terrorists who have used the 
app to enter the United States?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3. CBP has outlined certain exceptions for CBP One 
allowing some aliens to present at ports of entry without appointments. 
Why is CBP allowing unauthorized aliens without appointments to 
circumvent the Department's own rule to present at a Port of Entry?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
       Questions From Vice Chair Michael Guest for Diane Sabatino
    Question 1a. The original justification for the roll-out and 
subsequent expansion of CBP One at ports of entry was to facilitate a 
safe, orderly, and humane process. However, that has not been the case. 
The Border Patrol recorded a record of nearly 250,000 enforcement 
encounters in December 2023.
    Since January 1, 2023, how many individuals are processed daily at 
ports of entry, and of those, how many made appointments to schedule 
their arrival using CBP One?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. Each time the number of appointments increased, who 
was a part of the discussion on expansion and how was it decided what 
number to expand to?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1c. What is the difference in processing inadmissible 
aliens presenting at ports of entry who made appointments through CBP 
One and those who did not?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2a. CBP recently told the committee that they are 
addressing vulnerabilities in the app's features that might allow 
foreign nationals to manipulate the appointment scheduling process or 
app's features.
    What is CBP doing to ensure that the data that aliens are inputting 
into the app is accurate?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2b. Media reports have shown that some aliens have grown 
frustrated with the app's appointment feature and they often try 
multiple times a day every day to get an appointment. Is it possible 
for aliens to create duplicate profile accounts or appointments? Is 
there a limit to how many appointment submissions can be made in the 
app?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2c. What happens to aliens that CBP has caught providing 
fake information in CBP One?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2d. Last August, it was reported that cartels were selling 
virtual private networks (VPN) services to aliens trying to make 
appointments outside of Northern and Central Mexico. Since then, CBP 
has said that they have patched this problem. Are there still 
vulnerabilities in the app that cartels or foreign nations can exploit?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2e. Have any aliens caught providing fake information been 
released into the country?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
   Questions From Honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene for Diane Sabatino
    Question 1a. To obtain advance travel authorization through the 
CHNV parole program, an individual provides biometric information, 
including a photograph, using CBP One.
    Are all aliens in the CHNV parole process required to submit 
biographical information through CBP One? Please confirm all the 
biographical information that is required in the CBP One app prior to 
be processed by CBP.
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. What other information, if any, are aliens required to 
submit?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1c. When vetting for advance travel authorization 
approval, does CBP vet against criminal records in Cuba, Haiti, 
Nicaragua, or Venezuela?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2. Last year, CBP informed the committee that they were 
working toward an ``orderly and safe management'' plan to deal with the 
unprecedented number of aliens surging at the Southwest Border. CBP 
also noted that the goal of CBP One's scheduling function is to replace 
paperwork and time consumed by Office of Field Operations (OFO) 
officers on processing. Is the priority of CBP simply managing the flow 
of aliens or is it to deter and discourage illegal immigration?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3a. One criterion to qualify for the CHNV parole program 
is that the applicant must fly into an interior port of entry.
    How many airports are aliens, who apply for CHNV, are flying into? 
Please list the names of all airports that CHNV aliens are flying into.
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3b. Are any of these airports outside the United States? 
If so, please list the airports outside of the United States that 
aliens are flying to. Why are aliens flying into international airports 
outside the United States?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3c. Who is responsible for paying for the alien's airline 
tickets? Can nongovernmental organizations pay for an alien, who 
applies to and is accepted into, the CHNV parole program, their airline 
tickets?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 4a. CBP states that it continues to work closely with U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) to quickly process aliens encountered 
at the border and remove those who do not establish a legal basis to 
remain in the United States. Can you give specific examples of aliens 
who scheduled an appointment through CBP One or presented at a Port of 
Entry that ultimately did not have a legal basis to remain in the 
United States?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 4b. What happens to aliens who do not have a legal basis 
to remain in the United States under DHS's new parole guidelines?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Diane Sabatino
    Question 1a. For all witnesses, as we face the largest global mass 
migration of individuals this world has ever seen, the strength of our 
global partnerships has never been more important. This is not just a 
U.S. issue, it's a global issue. Shared challenges require shared 
solutions, and we must continue to work with our partners around the 
globe to address the migration issues we are seeing. We also know that 
with these challenges the risk to our national security is elevated. We 
cannot forget that the 9/11 hijackers were here in the United States on 
tourist and business visas and there has not been a terrorist attack on 
the United States from an undocumented migrant. We must look broader 
than the people asking for protection at our border. As we continue to 
use all of the tools in our toolkit to create a more humane, safe, and 
orderly immigration system, we must remain vigilant to maintain our 
national security.
    Can you describe what your agency partnerships are like with our 
closest partners in Mexico and Canada as well as with countries in the 
Western Hemisphere?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. Can you describe how these partnerships help 
strengthen our national security to help prevent another 9/11 from 
occurring on our soil again?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
  Questions From Vice Ranking Member Delia Ramirez for Diane Sabatino
    Question 1. Your written testimony states that the CBP One app 
``effectively cuts out smugglers, decreases migrant exploitation, and 
improves safety and security.'' Please elaborate on the evidence CBP 
has to support this statement.
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2. The CBP One app can present access barriers for people 
who do not speak 1 of the 3 languages the app is available in, have low 
or no literacy, are not technologically adept, or may not have access 
to a smartphone or internet services. What are CBP's plans to address 
language access, technical support, and functionality issues with CBP 
One? What are CBP's plans to make access to CBP One appointments more 
accessible to people who encounter these barriers?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3a. Regarding the exception to the rebuttable presumption 
of asylum ineligibility that exists under the ``Circumvention of Lawful 
Pathways Final Rule'' for people who can demonstrate they are unable to 
access an appointment through CBP One: How many exceptions have been 
granted to date? Please provide the supporting data.
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3b. What are DHS's criteria for granting the exception?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3c. How would someone demonstrate they were unable to 
access an appointment through CBP One? Would not speaking 1 of the 3 
languages available on the app or not having access to reliable 
internet service be sufficient evidence?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 4. How has your agency consulted with those who have used 
or could use CBP One to enter the United States, as well as with 
immigration advocates and services providers, to inform the development 
of CBP One and U.S. border enforcement efforts? How is your agency 
engaging with those directly impacted to optimize the app and inform 
migration policies going forward?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
      Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green, MD for Tammy Meckley
    Question 1a. How many total applications have been submitted for 
the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole? Please 
also include the total number of applications U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services (USCIS) received from Venezuelan nationals in 
October 2022?
    Of the total number of applications submitted for CHNV parole, how 
many of these applicants have been confirmed/approved?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. Does this include the total number of approved 
applications of Venezuelan nationals from October 2022?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2a. The CHNV parole program requires applicants to find a 
U.S.-based financial support who agrees to provide applicants with 
financial support during parole.
    What are the requirements to become a financial supporter?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2b. How much money does a ``supporter'' need to have to 
support an inadmissible alien?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2c. Can nongovernmental organizations be listed on an 
alien's application as a financial supporter?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2d. What would be the causes/reasons why someone would be 
declined to serve as a financial supporter?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3a. It has been reported that individuals using the CBP 
One app are using the same financial sponsor. In some cases, for 
instance in Pittsburgh, PA, dozens of Uzbeks nationals used the same 
sponsor without the sponsor even knowing it.
    How is USCIS screening and vetting CHNV applicants and their 
financial sponsors?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3b. Allegedly, some aliens come into the country using the 
CBP One app under a false name and then when they get to USCIS they 
provide their real name and DOB because they want to obtain work 
authorization. Are you able to confirm whether this is true?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
         Questions From Chairman Clay Higgins for Tammy Meckley
    Question 1. As of January, over 357,000 aliens were granted parole 
under CHNV. Can you tell me what role USCIS plays in these two parole 
programs and where does the CBP One app come into play?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 2. Why is the Department pre-authorizing the travel of 
aliens through parole to fly directly into the country and how many of 
these aliens have been processed for admission by your agency into the 
United States?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 3. DHS has stated that aliens who are outside the United 
States and lack U.S. entry documents may be considered, on a case-by-
case basis, for advanced authorization to travel and a temporary period 
of parole for up to 2 years for urgent humanitarian reasons or 
``significant public benefit.'' What is the public benefit of allowing 
hundreds of thousands of parolees--many of whom we don't know much 
about--into the United States?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 4a. On their website, the Department of State (DOS) claims 
that USCIS is responsible for the adjudication of the individuals at 
Safe Mobility Offices. It was even reported that Secretary Mayorkas 
surged asylum officers to these sites when they were opened. Can you 
confirm that USCIS is processing illegal immigrants at these processing 
centers in foreign countries?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 4b. Under this process, when do these aliens get processed 
through a point of entry?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 5a. Is the Department encouraging illegal aliens to use 
the CBP One App at Safe Mobility Offices?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 5b. Do you understand how this can be interpreted as 
facilitating illegal entry into American sovereign soil?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
       Questions From Vice Chair Michael Guest for Tammy Meckley
    Question 1a. Under the CHNV parole program, a supporter needs to 
pass a security and background vetting along with demonstrating 
sufficient financial resources to receive, maintain, and support the 
beneficiary.
    What security and other background vetting checks does USCIS 
conduct on the supporter?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. What is the validity of those security checks and how 
recent are the results at the time of adjudication?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1c. What checks does USCIS conduct to determine if a 
supporter is demonstrating sufficient financial resources to receive, 
maintain, and support a beneficiary?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1d. Can the financial resources threshold for supporters 
be waived? If so, how often?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
     Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Tammy Meckley
    Question 1a. For all witnesses, as we face the largest global mass 
migration of individuals this world has ever seen the strength of our 
global partnerships has never been more important. This is not just a 
U.S. issue, it's a global issue. Shared challenges require shared 
solutions, and we must continue to work with our partners around the 
globe to address the migration issues we are seeing. We also know that 
with these challenges the risk to our national security is elevated. We 
cannot forget that the 9/11 hijackers were here in the United States on 
tourist and business visas and there has not been a terrorist attack on 
the United States from an undocumented migrant. We must look broader 
than the people asking for protection at our border. As we continue to 
use all of the tools in our toolkit to create a more humane, safe, and 
orderly immigration system, we must remain vigilant to maintain our 
national security.
    Can you describe what your agency partnerships are like with our 
closest partners in Mexico and Canada as well as with countries in the 
Western Hemisphere?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
    Question 1b. Can you describe how these partnerships help 
strengthen our national security to help prevent another 9/11 from 
occurring on our soil again?
    Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
      Questions From Ranking Member J. Luis Correa for Marta Youth
    Question 1. Ms. Costanzo Youth, your written testimony states the 
Safe Mobility initiative is one of the ways the United States is 
facilitating access to safe and lawful pathways from countries in the 
region, so refugees do not have to undertake a dangerous journey. You 
state Safe Mobility Offices are currently operational in Colombia, 
Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala.
    Can you clarify what the roles of the Safe Mobility Offices are and 
what their operations include?
    Answer. The Safe Mobility initiative is one of the many ways the 
United States is facilitating access to safe and lawful migration 
pathways, so refugees and vulnerable migrants don't have to undertake 
dangerous journeys in search of safety and better opportunities. They 
access the initiative at no cost through the MovilidadSegura.org 
website and Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) in Colombia, Costa Rica, 
Ecuador, and Guatemala. SMOs complement the range of existing services 
available for refugees and migrants in host countries. SMOs facilitate 
expedited refugee processing via the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program as 
well as provide information and referrals to humanitarian parole, 
family reunification, and labor pathways. SMOs are also increasing 
access to information about lawful migration pathways to other 
countries besides the United States, such as Spain and Canada.
    Question 2a. For all witnesses, as we face the largest global mass 
migration of individuals this world has ever seen the strength of our 
global partnerships has never been more important. This is not just a 
U.S. issue, it's a global issue. Shared challenges require shared 
solutions, and we must continue to work with our partners around the 
globe to address the migration issues we are seeing. We also know that 
with these challenges the risk to our national security is elevated. We 
cannot forget that the 9/11 hijackers were here in the United States on 
tourist and business visas and there has not been a terrorist attack on 
the United States from an undocumented migrant. We must look broader 
than the people asking for protection at our border. As we continue to 
use all of the tools in our toolkit to create a more humane, safe, and 
orderly immigration system, we must remain vigilant to maintain our 
national security.
    Can you describe what your agency partnerships are like with our 
closest partners in Mexico and Canada as well as with countries in the 
Western Hemisphere?
    Answer. The Department works with partners in the region to address 
irregular migration and forced displacement, in line with the shared 
goals of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. We 
collaborate with Mexico on asylum capacity-building and refugee 
integration in Mexico, and with Canada via the Comprehensive Regional 
Protection and Solutions Framework Support Platform, asylum capacity-
building in the region, and refugee resettlement. We partner with 
Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala to host and operate Safe 
Mobility offices through our implementing partners to facilitate access 
to lawful pathways.
    Question 2b. Can you describe how these partnerships help 
strengthen our national security to help prevent another 9/11 from 
occurring on our soil again?
    Answer. With PRM funding, our humanitarian partners strengthen 
humane migration management mechanisms and offer local communities the 
resources they need to host refugees and other vulnerable populations. 
PRM assistance facilitates migrant and refugees' successful long-term 
integration closer to home, discouraging them from undertaking 
dangerous irregular journeys to the United States. Separately, the 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) bureau 
focuses on improving partner capacity to secure land, air, and sea 
borders; acquisition of new technologies; and facilitation of 
coordination with U.S. law enforcement.
         Questions From Honorable Delia Ramirez for Marta Youth
    Question 1a. The wait times to receive a CBP One appointment remain 
extremely long and only a few ports of entry accept appointments, which 
has forced people to wait for months in Mexico, often in dangerous 
conditions and without the ability to support themselves.
    What is the United States Government's role in and strategy for 
ensuring the safety and protection of people waiting for a CBP One 
appointment?
    Answer. Since 2021, the United States has led the largest expansion 
of lawful pathways to the United States in decades to provide refugees, 
vulnerable migrants, and displaced persons in the Western Hemisphere 
with safe and humane options. PRM supports programming in Mexico to 
meet humanitarian needs and increase access to protection for refugees, 
asylum seekers, and vulnerable migrants. Our international organization 
partners deliver life-saving water, shelter, sanitation, and emergency 
health care to the most vulnerable migrants. The Department defers to 
the Department of Homeland Security on details regarding questions 
related to CBP One.
    Question 1b. What insight does your agency have on the conditions 
that those who are waiting for an appointment encounter and endure 
while they stay in Mexico, particularly those who are not Mexican 
nationals?
    Answer. Humanitarian partners on the ground, including UNHCR, IOM, 
and UNICEF, frequently report protection concerns in Mexico for 
refugees, asylum seekers, internally-displaced persons, and vulnerable 
migrants. Specifically, the Department understands some migrants face 
extortion and violence at the hands of transnational criminal 
organizations in Mexico. For additional details regarding CBP One 
applicants, the Department defers to the Department of Homeland 
Security which administers and monitors the implementation of CPB One 
application.
    Question 1c. What coordination is occurring with the government of 
Mexico to meet the needs of those who are waiting for a CBP One 
appointment?
    Answer. In close coordination with the Mexican government, PRM's 
partners provide technical and material support to reinforce Mexico's 
shelter capacity and strengthen humane migration management mechanisms. 
PRM funds partners like UNHCR, IOM, and UNICEF to build the capacity of 
Mexican government officials, particularly in providing protection for 
the most vulnerable migrants. For additional details regarding CBP One 
applicants, the Department defers to the Department of Homeland 
Security which administers and monitors the implementation of CPB One.
    Question 2. How has your agency consulted with those who have used 
or could use CBP One to enter the United States, as well as with 
immigration advocates and services providers, to inform the development 
of CBP One and U.S. border enforcement efforts? How is your agency 
engaging with those directly impacted to optimize the app and inform 
migration policies going forward?
    Answer. The Department has engaged with colleagues from the U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide feedback on the CBP 
One application based on information gathered from users and other 
stakeholders in Mexico. For further questions, the Department 
respectfully defers to DHS which administers and monitors the 
implementation of CPB One application.



                          A P P E N D I X  I I

                              ----------                              

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                               [all]`