The United States will be facing a massive increase in travelers during the summer months, especially through the South Texas border, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials warned Tuesday.
The Laredo Port of Entry noted that there will be additional pressures on services, as more people came into the U.S. through South Texas. Officials advise travelers to get tourist permits online and check Border Wait Times on the CBP website to make things easier, Newsweek reported.
The officials also mentioned the temporary reopening of the off-site I-94 processing facility, which was located on the ground floor of the Outlet Shoppes of Laredo, in front of the Old Navy store at Suite A4. It will be open from July 13 to Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays, it will remain open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. This initiative is meant to reduce wait times and improve traffic flow.
Laredo Port of Entry Director Alberto Flores said, "With an increase in wait times due to summer travel, CBP has prepared to assist the traveling public with the temporary opening of the satellite I-94 processing facility at the Outlet Shoppes," Newsweek reported.
"We strongly encourage travelers to utilize the CBP One app to obtain tourist permits in advance, consult the border wait times before they travel, and choose their border crossing port location accordingly."
However, the critics of the CBP One app pointed out that it had glitches and turned the right to asylum into a "lottery." Several human rights groups have been urging the U.S. government to stop requiring the use of the CBP One mobile app.
Mary Kapron, a researcher, said, "Despite multiple updates to the application, asylum seekers continue to experience technological errors and crashes. The mandatory use of CBP One drastically limits access to asylum in violation of international human rights and refugee law."
Kapron explained that people who want asylum have to face "challenges using the CBP One application due to an onerous registration process, technological errors and flaws, and lack of knowledge about the application and how it works."
Furthermore, she noted that the app does not provide appointments based on the order of registration but, instead, worked as a lottery system.
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