The battle over immigration policy that has raged for years in Congress is now playing out on your smartphone.
This week, a federal law enforcement agency and a civil liberties organization each launched phone apps — the former is focused on helping enforce immigration laws, while the latter is aimed at shedding light on what some say is the unjust treatment of immigrants as they try to enter the country.
The Laredo Sector Border Patrol Thursday released the free “USBP Laredo Sector” app. People who download it can “report activity” along the border or share information about suspected cases of illegal immigration. People can also immediately call or email Border Patrol with tips.
“This is the first app of its kind. We’re constantly called by concerned citizens about suspicious activity occurring in and around our communities. This app is just another tool the public can use to get a hold of us,” said Laredo Sector Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Gabriel Acosta in an email to the Washington Examiner. He said a fellow agent came up with the idea and developed the technology.
The app comes with a number of other features, including a continually updated list of press releases and videos of the Texas National Guard, which was recently deployed to the border.
It also takes users to a job board of current openings within the Laredo Sector. The entire Customs and Border Protection parent agency is suffering from a personnel shortage, and the app could provide a free alternative to spending $40,000 in recruitment costs for each new hire, which is the current practice.
“We wanted to give everyone who had access to a smart phone or mobile device the opportunity to have instant information about the United States Border Patrol, stay current with the latest news pertaining to Laredo Sector, see videos of the great work our men and women are doing and have the ability to report suspicious activity with just the click of a button,” Acosta said.
A few days before the Laredo app was launched, the American Civil Liberties Union Border Rights Center, El Paso-based ACLU of Texas, and Quadrant 2, Inc., on Tuesday released the “MigraCam” app.
With this app, any immigrant who enters the U.S. illegally or who seeks asylum can use the app to livestream any encounters they have with border officials. The aim is to publicize actions they feel are harmful to these immigrants.
“We are living through a dark period in our history where immigration authorities harass our border residents, profile people on buses, break up families, deport veterans, raid homes and businesses, and incarcerate children and pregnant women,” Astrid Dominguez, director of the ACLU’s Border Rights Center, said in a statement.
With one touch, users can alert contacts of their location and share video of their encounter. Dominguez believes people will use the app to tape raids or police stops.
Enforcement operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are often referred to as raids because onlookers do not know agents are looking for a specific wanted person. Sometimes the target can be someone who was released by police due to sanctuary policies that call on local officials not to cooperate with federal immigration agents.
