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The United States agreed to pay for the deportation of people who enter Panama illegally in exchange for Panama closing a major migrant overland route to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The funding will include the U.S. covering the cost of flights from Panama and “supporting training and capacity building to strengthen and institutionalize safe and humane return procedures,” according to the statement.
The amount allocated by the State Department for these flights has not been released.
On June 28, 2024, migrants arrived at the Migrant Care Reception Center in Lajas Blancas, Darien province, in the jungle region of Panama.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
of The Associated Press reported. Under the new agreement, the United States will cover the costs of charter and commercial flights to return migrants to their home countries.
The paper quoted two unnamed government officials as saying Panama would select those to be repatriated in accordance with its laws.
The agreement was signed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and comes as Panama inaugurates its new President, José Raul Mulino.
This will see Panama close the Darien Canyon, a dangerous stretch of rainforest through which at least 520,000 migrants passed on their way north in 2023. Another 174,000 people have been recorded using that route this year.
Migrants walk through the jungle near the village of Bajo Chiquito, the first border crossing in Panama’s Darien province, on September 22, 2023.
Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images
Frequented by drug cartels and paramilitary groups, the corridor begins in Colombia and ends in Panama, and typically requires an arduous trek of around five days or more to complete the 66-mile journey.
Humanitarian organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF are stationed at popular exits from the Darien Valley to provide medical assistance and necessities to migrants. I was overwhelmed by the increasing influx of climbers.
Migrants line up to receive food at the Migrant Care Reception Center in Lajas Blancas, Darien province, in the jungle region of Panama, on June 27, 2024.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
Panama’s government does not typically repatriate migrants who enter through the Darien Valley, but it has developed infrastructure to house those passing through.
Once in Panama, many migrants continue their journey through Central America, crossing at least five borders before reaching Mexico and eventually the U.S. southern border.
Encounters between Border Patrol agents and migrants in the southwestern US hit a record high in December. More than 301,000 cases have been recorded.Nearly 2.5 million encounters with migrants were reported in fiscal year 2023, and the numbers this year are expected to reach similar levels.
Authorities are already struggling to control the Darien Valley.
But closing the Darien Canyon won’t be easy. In April 2023, the United States and Panama announced 60-day campaign To curb illegal immigration from the corridor.
In June of that year, in Panama 1,200 immigration, border and naval aviation personnel deployed Targeting criminal groups that direct and exploit migrants passing through the Darien Gap.
Hundreds of thousands of people continued to use the crossing.
Migrants walk through the jungle near the village of Bajo Chiquito, the first border crossing in Panama’s Darien province, on September 22, 2023.
Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images
Panama’s new president, Mulino, has vowed to solve the country’s immigration problem. Announced on his first day in office The country will no longer be “an avenue for thousands of illegal immigrants.”
Illegal immigration has become an increasingly prominent issue in U.S. politics, especially among Republican leaders who accuse the Biden administration of loosening border security.
On June 4, President Joe Biden Temporarily restrict entry for non-U.S. citizens People entering the U.S. illegally through the southwest border. His campaign Border patrol officer seven-day encounter average down 40%.
But addressing the migration crisis is proving to be a delicate political and economic balancing act. Biden previously drew fire from progressives for calling a Venezuelan migrant charged with murder “illegal immigrants.”
Analysts also say immigrants help ease the U.S. labor shortage, and that an overly aggressive deportation program like that proposed by presidential candidate Donald Trump risks stalling the economy.