SPECIAL REPORT: Migrants struggle to use government asylum app

FOX 9's Adam Klepp went to San Luis Rio Colorado to hear from migrants who say their right to asylum is being denied

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Mex. (KECY, KYMA) - The Biden Administration is looking to put restrictions on asylum seekers when Title 42 ends.

To avoid a massive surge of crossings after May 11, the government is making migrants use an app to seek protection in the U.S.

But according to the country's immigration law, even if migrants illegally cross the border, they have a legal right to make an asylum claim.

And migrants in Mexico's shelters, like Luis Ramirez, say it's a right they're being denied.

“I’ve heard that you can cross, but some of them get caught, and deported," Ramirez said. "I do have that feeling of wanting to try, but at the same time, it scares me.”

Proposing a new rule

The Biden Administration is now proposing a rule that requires migrants to apply for asylum on the 'CBP One' app.

But Ramirez says it’s impossible for him to use.

“I didn’t hear about the app until recently. But my phone broke and so I can’t download this. I have bad luck,” Ramirez said.

A Mexican woman and her four children are also living in the shelter temporarily.

She asked for her identity not to be revealed but is having similar issues with the app.

“I need someone to help me download this application because I cannot read or write,” she said.

The shelter director says he’s trying his best to get the migrants here asylum appointments at a port of entry.

But says the app often has glitches, especially when it comes to accepting photos of migrants.

He’s frustrated, as now with Title 42 ending in May, the migrants he’s trying to help still can’t access their right to seek asylum.

“President Joe Biden pretends he wants to help, but the policy is the same of the government of Donald Trump,” Don Chon said.