Mystery: 358 Migrants Claim Same California Home as Residence

Over eight months, about 350 immigrants traveling to the U.S. border used the same California address as their stated final destination: a four-bedroom house somewhere in the Central Valley.

The potential security risk was flagged in an independent report on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app, CBP One, which warned of its vulnerability to security breaches.

In the 18 months since the app was introduced, more than 765,000 port-of-entry appointments have been scheduled through CBP One. But according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, the app was launched without adequate consideration of the risks.

“I just want to point out that having an address in the United States is not a legal requirement to apply for asylum,” Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, director of Al Otro Lado’s border rights project, told Newsweek.

“That is an additional requirement that CBP imposes through the app to limit who qualifies for international protection in the United States.”

Mystery about California address

The OIG report lists seven addresses as frequently used by migrants to make appointments at various border crossings.

The report pointed to one location in central California, a four-bedroom family home, that had been used as a final destination address by 358 individuals over an eight-month period when they registered for a CBP One appointment.

“Of the 358 noncitizens, we identified 266 noncitizens with different surnames who may not have been related to each other,” the report said, adding that migrants using the address entered the border at all eight border crossings.

Ramos said the app simply does not allow asylum seekers to schedule an appointment unless they have a U.S. address.

“Not everyone who applies for asylum in the United States has a U.S. address, or even knows someone in the U.S., undocumented or with immigration status,” she said, adding that it is likely that migrants use this specific address to circumvent this problem.

The report also found that immigration officials at one border crossing cannot access data about appointments at another border crossing, making it harder to detect repeated use of the same address.

The OIG said the Border Patrol had no ability to flag suspicious data from its own app. What the app does have is the ability to alert agents to suspicious individuals known to the government as they approach the border.

According to the OIG, if CBP were to analyze appointment data more thoroughly, it could mean that agents would be better prepared to conduct interviews with newcomers.

Ramos, the immigration attorney, said many users are unable to get an appointment, with some clients having to wait up to 10 months before being seen by U.S. border agents.

Other ‘vulnerabilities’ found in CBP One app

Some non-citizens using the app, which until recently was available only in northern Mexico and Mexico City, were able to create multiple accounts to repeatedly schedule appointments at the U.S. border.

According to OIG, this was fraudulent and made it less likely that others would have their cases heard by border officials.

In one case, an Armenian migrant submitted as many as 466 registrations in one month to secure an appointment.

Some accounts were created within seconds of each other, leading officials to believe migrants were using “bots or scripts” to log in on their behalf. CBP subsequently addressed the issue.

Ramos questioned this story, saying people were simply desperate for safety.

“Every one of us, including the CBP Commissioner himself, would be in a situation where we fear for our lives and the lives of our children, if we were told that whether or not our lives were saved and when we could save our lives was dependent on an algorithm selecting our account. Obviously, we would be involved in multiple accounts,” Ramos said.

She added that some immigrants ask or pay others to help them make arrangements to cross the border, and that they should not be blamed for what those other individuals do on their behalf.

The report also highlighted other security concerns, including “software weaknesses” that could leave CBP’s migrant data vulnerable to misuse.

Analysis of the app’s code and web version showed that attackers were able to bypass security protocols and attack users.

The OIG criticized CBP for failing to timely deploy patches to the app to address known issues, which the OIG said violated broader DHS protocols.

The issues raised are similar to those that immigrant rights groups have been raising since the app’s introduction.

The American Immigration Council, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have all raised concerns about user privacy and the app’s ability to provide an appointment at the border.

They argue that this has a negative impact on migrants who do not have access to smartphones, while others are excluded from the app because their language is not supported.

CBP responded to the OIG’s findings, saying it had worked earlier this year to implement stronger security measures, including giving officers along the border access to data from other border crossings.

In a statement to NewsweekA CBP spokesman did not respond to questions about the California home used by multiple migrants, saying instead that the app has improved security by allowing migrants to provide information before they arrive at the border.

“CBP has made significant improvements and continues to strengthen the application to address risk-related issues and concerns, including measures to ensure fairness in the allocation of designations, following DHS OIG’s fieldwork on CBP One during the period of August 2023 through January 2024,” the spokesperson said.

“CBP has worked diligently to prevent and counter misuse of the application and potential exploitation of non-citizens by malicious individuals. We will continue to strengthen these countermeasures.”

The OIG said it would not close the case until it saw evidence from CBP that it had acted on recommendations to make the CBP One app more secure.

Ramos said Newsweek Changes had to be made as some fell into the hands of those they were fleeing, and even died while waiting for an appointment at CBP One.

Do you have a story that Newsweek should cover? Do you have questions about this story? Contact [email protected]