Panama City: Nearly 100 migrants deported from the United States to Panama last week have been relocated from a hotel in Panama City to the Darien jungle region, the Panamanian government announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, Panama’s security ministry said that out of the 299 migrants recently deported from the U.S., 13 had been repatriated to their home countries, while another 175 remained in the hotel in the capital, awaiting further travel after agreeing to return home.
The migrants had been housed in the hotel under the protection of local authorities, with financial assistance from the U.S. through the U.N.-affiliated International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency, according to Panamanian officials.
The group includes individuals from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino stated. His administration has agreed to accept non-Panamanian deportees under an arrangement with the U.S.
U.S. Policy and Challenges
The deportation of non-Panamanian migrants to Panama is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to increase removals of individuals living in the U.S. illegally. However, the initiative faces challenges, as some migrants come from countries that either refuse to accept U.S. deportation flights due to diplomatic tensions or have policies preventing forced returns.
Under the agreement with Panama, the U.S. transfers these migrants to the Central American nation, making it responsible for their repatriation.
The program has sparked criticism from human rights organizations, which have expressed concerns over the potential mistreatment of deported individuals and the risks they may face if returned to conflict zones or oppressive regimes.
Concerns Over Migrant Safety
Susana Sabalza, a Panamanian migration lawyer representing one of the families transferred to the San Vicente shelter in the Darien region, said she had not been allowed to visit her clients while they were housed at the hotel in Panama City. She is now seeking access to them at their new location.
She did not disclose their nationality but described them as a Muslim family who “could be decapitated” if forced to return home. According to Sabalza, the family intends to seek asylum in Panama or another country willing to take them.
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The security ministry confirmed that 97 migrants had been relocated to the shelter in the Darien region, a remote and lawless jungle corridor that separates Central and South America. An additional eight migrants are expected to be moved there soon. The Darien region has become a key passage for hundreds of thousands of migrants traveling north toward the United States.
Tight Security and an Attempted Escape
A Reuters witness reported that the hotel in Panama City, where the migrants had been temporarily held, remained quiet on Wednesday. However, on Tuesday, some migrants were seen holding hands and looking out of the windows, seemingly trying to attract the attention of journalists gathered outside.
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According to local media, the migrants were not permitted to leave the hotel.
Panama’s migration service also reported that a Chinese national, Zheng Lijuan, had escaped from the hotel but was later apprehended in Costa Rica and returned to Panama.
