WASHINGTON: At least 300 deportees, including Pakistanis, are stranded in a Panama hotel, awaiting repatriation after being expelled from the US as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.
The Panamanian government has restricted their movement while international authorities arrange their return., according to the Associated Press.
According to officials, over 40 per cent of the migrants are unwilling to return home voluntarily.
Some detainees have displayed messages in hotel windows reading “Help” and “We are not safe in our country.” The migrants come from ten primarily Asian countries, including Pakistan, Iran, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and China, according to AP.
The US faces challenges in deporting individuals directly to certain countries, using Panama as a transit point instead.
Panama’s Security Minister Frank Abrego stated that the deportees are receiving food and medical assistance under a migration agreement between Panama and the US.
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The agreement, reached earlier this month during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit, allows Panama to serve as a transit hub while the US covers all costs.
Of the 299 deportees, 171 have agreed to return to their home countries with assistance from the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency.
The remaining 128 are in discussions with UN agencies to determine alternative destinations. One Irish citizen has already returned home.
Migrants refusing to return will be temporarily housed in a facility in Darien province, a region frequently used by migrants traveling north, Abrego said.