The first U.S.-funded flight repatriating migrants who crossed into Panama irregularly occurred Tuesday. The flights, which carried both deported and voluntarily repatriated migrants, are part of an accord signed with the U.S. government last month.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino took office in early July promising to crack down on migration and “close” the dangerous Darien Gap connecting Panama and Colombia.
The jungle region saw a record number of migrants cross last year, more than half a million, with the majority headed for the United States.
A group of 29 Colombians with criminal records were the first to be returned on Tuesday.
Under an agreement jointly signed by the Panamanian foreign minister and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the US has committed to helping Panama with $6 million for equipment, transportation and logistics to “remove foreign nationals who do not have a legal basis to remain in Panama.”
Immigration is a hot topic ahead of November’s presidential election in the US and the stream of migrants arriving at its border with Mexico is being closely monitored.
President Mulino, who has promised to reduce the number of migrants transiting through Panama, described their situation as “sad”.
“Most of them are from Venezuela,” he explained. “They’re human beings… there are families torn apart, children of five or six years of age whose parents have died during the crossing. We don’t even know who they are or what their names are.”
Brazil Visa Restrictions
Brazil will begin imposing restrictions on the entry of some foreigners from Asia who use the country as a launching point to migrate to the United States and Canada, the justice ministry’s press office said Wednesday. Starting next week, travelers without visas will either have to continue their journey by plane or return to their country of origin, the ministry said.
The move, which starts on Monday, will affect migrants from Asian countries who require visas to remain in Brazil. It does not apply to people from Asian countries currently exempt from visas to Brazil. US citizens and many European nationals also do not require visas for Brazil.
A Federal Police investigation has shown these migrants often buy flights with layovers in Sao Paulo’s international airport, en route to other destinations, but stay in Brazil as a place from where they then begin their journey north.
More than 70% of requests for refuge at the airport come from people with either Indian, Nepalese or Vietnamese nationalities, one of the documents says. The African nations of Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana and Ethiopia are among the remaining 30% of refuge seekers.
