The Panama government Saturday released dozens of migrants who were deported from the US and were held up in Panama detention camp as a stopover. While the release of these migrants could pose a challenge to US President Donald Trump’s deportation plan with Panama and Costa Rica serving as two stopovers, the release came as Panama faced human rights criticism for keeping people in a remote jungle camp under questionable conditions.
The illegal migrants have been told by the Panama authorities that they have 30 days to leave Panama but if they need to extend that they can do it for 60 days.
The deportees are largely from Asian countries and they were sent to Panama as part of a deal struck between the Trump administration and Panama where the US government decided to send people as a stopover while the authorities worked a plan to send them back to their countries of origin.
The deportees were locked up in a hotel in Panama and the photos of them holding up notes from their windows pleading for help and saying that they were scared to return to their own countries caused humanitarian concerns. Panamanian authorities denied accusations about camp conditions but did not allow journalists to visit the camp.
Panama’s Security Minister Frank Ábrego said 299 migrants arrived from the United States and 177 of them already returned voluntarily to their countries of origin. Another 10 were waiting for flights back home. The remaining 112 were from Afghanistan, and Iran and did not want to return to their country of origin.
Why did the US send migrants to Panama, Costa Rica?
Many deportees cannot be easily repatriated to their country of origin from the US, creating a roadblock to the ongoing deportations. The Trump administration identified countries that were willing to take them for the time being. Panama is one of them as the Panama government is trying to placate Trump who is determined to take over the Panama Canal.
Initially, the deportees were locked in a hotel. After a few batches voluntarily left, the government then transported the rest to a remote camp in eastern Panama, at the edge of the jungle known as the Darien Gap.
