4 ms·

The new US border wall is an app

41 points by impish9208 3y ago

politelemon 3y ago
App first feels pretty short-sighted and exclusionary to me but I don't think wider accessibility or understanding the userbase is their concern. FWIW I see there's a website too but it's not advertised. It's made in flutter, I know because they haven't done any SEO and that's what appears in search results. https://cbpone.cbp.dhs.gov/ https://cbpone.cbp.dhs.gov/
Scoundreller 3y ago
Even for returning citizens, borders are effectively becoming an app. Wait in this long-ass line because we created more rules than we provided resources for, or, oh, “voluntarily” sign away your rights to this app/“trusted” traveller program and get access to the front of the line. Worst part is the gov has a pretty clear idea of who to worry about or not, but why not use a nudge to get people to sign away more?
- WirelessGigabit 3y ago
  Can you elaborate the rights I would sign away when I would enroll in the Global Entry program?
  - buildbot 3y ago
    They do are fairly extensive background check for Nexus (which provides Global Entry and TSA Pre as well). But it's not really signing away a right in my opinion. You are after all, literally consenting to the search. Which the CBP doesn't need anyway at the border (more of an issue).
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > “voluntarily” sign away your rights to this app/“trusted” traveller program and get access to the front of the line State's mobile passport doesn't sign away anything, to my knowledge.
willio58 3y ago
Based on the headline I assumed the app would make immigration easier, but it's really just an additional step. The US can keep trying to make it harder, but it will just mean more immigrants will enter the US through illegal channels versus documented and safe ones.
- bruceb 3y ago
  The US literately flies people around the country and opens fences for people on the southern border. Biden administration isn't making anything harder.
yawboakye 3y ago
> A few minutes before 9 a.m. on a day in late March, Keisy Plaza, 39, leans against a wall on the corner of Juárez Avenue and Gardenias Street in Ciudad Juárez. It’s the last intersection before Mexico turns into El Paso, Texas, and a stream of commuters drive past on their way to work and other daily activities that intertwine the two border cities. the enshittification of technology news marches on unabated. it’s as if they’re daring you to ask chatgpt to get straight to the point.
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  It is mainly on this website that see complaints about this approach to article writing, and I wonder if the repulsion is due to the fact that so many of us here are on the spectrum. Wider neurotypical society doesn’t seem to react so negatively, indeed this approach has been claimed to be more engaging to ordinary people than a drier, facts-only approach.
  - bsder 3y ago
    I suspect it's also a "modern" thing. tl;dr and all that ... If I consume too much "Internet writing" I find that my reading skill gets impacted until I sit down and read a novel or two.
- godelski 3y ago
  I don't find anything wrong with emotional appeal. That's fine story telling and news writing. We are emotional creatures after all, and emotions don't make us weak or dumb. We're neither robots nor Vulcans. Maybe it just isn't the article for you and that's okay. Not everything needs to be distilled into a tweet sized oversimplification. What I get upset about is that if there isn't important information contained for me to make a reasonable conclusion. But as for this article, I feel like I got it. I understand the underlying problem -- there are many migrants at the border and the border system is overburdened --, I understand why the app was created -- to try to reduce the burden on the borders and processing --, I understand the problem with the technical capacity of the app -- that it has many glitches and is burdensome to users --, the problem with the app's existence -- it limits accessibility and the requirement to use it does not meet the intended goals of current border policies, specifically with respect to asylum seekers. I don't see it being a problem that this was told in a way to help me sympathize with those at the border. Biased, yes, but it does pass as news as it is actually informative. May seem like a low bar, but I think it's a bar that many don't meet, especially around topics like these. I think I have enough information to conclude that while the app is not a bad idea that it shouldn't be the only means people have to immigrate through the border. And that if we're being honest, this is a problem that we need to start working with other countries to resolve. Even if it is strictly for our own self interest, as the border is overwhelmed. Looks like the selfish goal can align with the humanitarian goal.
kotaKat 3y ago
https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AF-MIT-JUAREZ-MAR2023-001.jpeg?w=2000 https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/A... "A migrant at a makeshift shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, shows a smartphone with the malfunctioning CBP One app." Anyone else have questions about this? I'm assuming the photo was a bit staged? That's an iPhone screenshot on an Android device with the CBP logo overlaid, I mean...
- animal_spirits 3y ago
  Yep, that’s definitely faked - I’m curious about the source for this image
- kylehotchkiss 3y ago
  I installed the app out of curiosity since it claims to show your travel records as a citizen. The massive CBP logo with the spinner around it isn’t photoshopped. It’s real.
sowbug 3y ago
"But CBP says it can only process so many people in a day." Which means that from CBP's perspective, the system is functioning properly.

41 points by impish9208 3y ago

App first feels pretty short-sighted and exclusionary to me but I don't think wider accessibility or understanding the userbase is their concern. FWIW I see there's a website too but it's not advertised. It's made in flutter, I know because they haven't done any SEO and that's what appears in search results. https://cbpone.cbp.dhs.gov/ https://cbpone.cbp.dhs.gov/

Scoundreller 3y ago

Even for returning citizens, borders are effectively becoming an app. Wait in this long-ass line because we created more rules than we provided resources for, or, oh, “voluntarily” sign away your rights to this app/“trusted” traveller program and get access to the front of the line. Worst part is the gov has a pretty clear idea of who to worry about or not, but why not use a nudge to get people to sign away more?

WirelessGigabit 3y ago
Can you elaborate the rights I would sign away when I would enroll in the Global Entry program?
- buildbot 3y ago
  They do are fairly extensive background check for Nexus (which provides Global Entry and TSA Pre as well). But it's not really signing away a right in my opinion. You are after all, literally consenting to the search. Which the CBP doesn't need anyway at the border (more of an issue).
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> “voluntarily” sign away your rights to this app/“trusted” traveller program and get access to the front of the line State's mobile passport doesn't sign away anything, to my knowledge.

willio58 3y ago

Based on the headline I assumed the app would make immigration easier, but it's really just an additional step. The US can keep trying to make it harder, but it will just mean more immigrants will enter the US through illegal channels versus documented and safe ones.

bruceb 3y ago
The US literately flies people around the country and opens fences for people on the southern border. Biden administration isn't making anything harder.

yawboakye 3y ago

> A few minutes before 9 a.m. on a day in late March, Keisy Plaza, 39, leans against a wall on the corner of Juárez Avenue and Gardenias Street in Ciudad Juárez. It’s the last intersection before Mexico turns into El Paso, Texas, and a stream of commuters drive past on their way to work and other daily activities that intertwine the two border cities. the enshittification of technology news marches on unabated. it’s as if they’re daring you to ask chatgpt to get straight to the point.

OfSanguineFire 3y ago
It is mainly on this website that see complaints about this approach to article writing, and I wonder if the repulsion is due to the fact that so many of us here are on the spectrum. Wider neurotypical society doesn’t seem to react so negatively, indeed this approach has been claimed to be more engaging to ordinary people than a drier, facts-only approach.
- bsder 3y ago
  I suspect it's also a "modern" thing. tl;dr and all that ... If I consume too much "Internet writing" I find that my reading skill gets impacted until I sit down and read a novel or two.
godelski 3y ago
I don't find anything wrong with emotional appeal. That's fine story telling and news writing. We are emotional creatures after all, and emotions don't make us weak or dumb. We're neither robots nor Vulcans. Maybe it just isn't the article for you and that's okay. Not everything needs to be distilled into a tweet sized oversimplification. What I get upset about is that if there isn't important information contained for me to make a reasonable conclusion. But as for this article, I feel like I got it. I understand the underlying problem -- there are many migrants at the border and the border system is overburdened --, I understand why the app was created -- to try to reduce the burden on the borders and processing --, I understand the problem with the technical capacity of the app -- that it has many glitches and is burdensome to users --, the problem with the app's existence -- it limits accessibility and the requirement to use it does not meet the intended goals of current border policies, specifically with respect to asylum seekers. I don't see it being a problem that this was told in a way to help me sympathize with those at the border. Biased, yes, but it does pass as news as it is actually informative. May seem like a low bar, but I think it's a bar that many don't meet, especially around topics like these. I think I have enough information to conclude that while the app is not a bad idea that it shouldn't be the only means people have to immigrate through the border. And that if we're being honest, this is a problem that we need to start working with other countries to resolve. Even if it is strictly for our own self interest, as the border is overwhelmed. Looks like the selfish goal can align with the humanitarian goal.

kotaKat 3y ago

https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AF-MIT-JUAREZ-MAR2023-001.jpeg?w=2000 https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/A... "A migrant at a makeshift shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, shows a smartphone with the malfunctioning CBP One app." Anyone else have questions about this? I'm assuming the photo was a bit staged? That's an iPhone screenshot on an Android device with the CBP logo overlaid, I mean...

animal_spirits 3y ago
Yep, that’s definitely faked - I’m curious about the source for this image
kylehotchkiss 3y ago
I installed the app out of curiosity since it claims to show your travel records as a citizen. The massive CBP logo with the spinner around it isn’t photoshopped. It’s real.

sowbug 3y ago

"But CBP says it can only process so many people in a day." Which means that from CBP's perspective, the system is functioning properly.