The U.S.'s Illegal Migrant Deportations to Panama
- Human Rights Research Center
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Author: Danielle Castano, MA
June 5, 2025
Introduction
There have been a myriad of changes to immigration policy in the United States since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year. During his presidential campaign, he vowed to crack down on illegal immigration. Throughout his first presidential term, he issued an executive order that banned entry into the U.S. from majority Muslim countries and attempted to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Most recently, the administration announced the deportation of alleged gang members to El Salvador prisons. In February 2025, the Trump administration deported non-Panamanian migrants from U.S. custody to Panama. Detaining migrants seeking asylum from other countries in facilities outside of the U.S. marks these actions as the first known deportation of its kind under the administration (Montoya-Galvez, 2025a). Reports of trapped migrants in hotels in Panama’s capital were reported. Pictures of migrants holding signs asking for help circulated around the internet, sparking criticism from human rights organizations. In total, the U.S. has sent three flights of migrants to Panama, however, other countries have begun to receive flights to repatriate them back to their countries of origin.
Background
In 2024, an agreement called the Joint Repatriation Program between the U.S. and Panama was signed. The program involved U.S. assistance to Panama to repatriate foreigners who were in the country without legal immigration status. On February 2nd, 2025, the two countries expanded the program to allow Panama to accept migrants deported from the U.S. who are from countries that are difficult for the U.S. to deport to directly. In exchange, the U.S. provides financial resources to fund the cost of the flights to the migrants’ countries of origin, with Panama acting as a stopover. However, some migrants have refused to leave Panama out of fear of persecution in their home country. The program has also expanded to include the repatriation of Venezuelan, Colombian, and Ecuadorian migrants (Moreno, 2025). A similar agreement was reached with other countries in Latin America and the Trump administration is seeking agreements in Africa, Asia, and Europe (Roy, 2025). The Panamanian government has denied accusations that the migrants are being detained, however, they are under police watch and cannot leave the hotel.
Migrants who refused to be repatriated were moved to the San Vicente migration facility near the Darién Gap, which is 66 miles of dense rainforest that connects Central and South America. This area of land was heavily traveled in recent years by migrants trying to reach the U.S. The San Vicente facility was built primarily to house migrants emerging from the Darién Gap, however, it is now holding migrants who refuse to be repatriated (Isacson, 2025). The treatment of migrants in Panama has sparked backlash from human rights organizations, as many are being held without their passports or cellphones (Janetsky, 2025). Furthermore, the lawyers of the deported migrants have been unable to communicate with their clients since they moved to the facility.
Data
Since taking office, rates of migration through the Darién Gap and other migratory routes have decreased due to Trump’s asylum shut-off. Under an executive order signed in January 2025, seeking asylum in the U.S. through the southern border has been suspended (Martínez-Beltrán, 2025). Nearly 300 migrants have been sent to Panama. The nationalities of the migrants vary, however, the majority are from Asia. Some of the nationalities include people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam (Kinosian, 2025). 171 of the nearly 300 migrants have agreed to return to their country of origin (Moreno, 2025). It is unclear what the Panamanian government plans to do with the migrants who have refused to be repatriated.
The Trump administration has not officially announced why the U.S. is sending migrants to Central America. However, some experts believe there are several reasons why this is occurring, including the overflow of migrants in U.S. detention centers and the U.S. government pressuring countries to receive migrants. Earlier this year, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), released detained migrants due to capacity issues. They reported that detention facilities were at 109% capacity and were holding 42,000 migrants despite only having 38,521 beds (Montoya-Galvez, 2025b).
Additionally, the U.S. government is using political and economic influence to pressure recipient countries into receiving migrants. The Trump administration has threatened countries with tariffs for refusing to take deported migrants. In January 2025, President Trump threatened Colombia with steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions for refusing to take deported migrants. President Gustavo Petro argued that the migrants were not treated with dignity and would not accept flights. He originally refused to take any additional deportees until a protocol was created to protect migrants from unfair treatment (Garcia Cano et al., 2025). President Petro eventually agreed to receive flights to avoid a trade war between the U.S. and Colombia.
Several organizations and entities are attempting to stop flights to Latin America. In April 2025, a U.S. judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting non-citizens to countries other than their place of origin without due process. The injunction also requires that the administration provide written notice before they are sent to a third country and allow migrants to raise concerns about their safety (Charalambous and Garcia, 2025). Human rights lawyers are suing Costa Rica under the premise that the country violated the rights of children. The lawyers who filed the suit allege that Costa Rica violated the Convention on the Rights of the Child when children were held in detention with no access to educational or mental health services in their native language (Janetsky, 2025a). These actions are critical in stopping any more flights from leaving the U.S.
Conclusion
As the Trump administration continues to change and implement harsher immigration policies, more uncertainty regarding the status of migrants will arise. The repatriation of migrants through Panama is not a new policy, however, it was primarily used for migrants already residing in the U.S. While most migrants who were sent to Panama have agreed to be repatriated, some have refused due to the fear of persecution in their countries of origin, causing a sort of limbo. The Panamanian government has not announced what it plans to do with migrants who refuse to be repatriated. This has prompted concerns as the migrants do not have any ties to the countries they were sent to from the U.S. Furthermore, due to human rights organizations, lawyers, and judges, actions are being taken against the U.S. and the countries that are receiving migrants in attempts to stop any more flights from leaving the country. This immigration policy is just one of many implemented by the Trump administration signaling the continued change of immigration law and policy in the U.S.
Glossary
Ban- An official order that prevents something from happening.
Capacity- The total amount that can be contained or produced.
Deportation- The action of forcing someone to leave a country, especially someone who has no legal right to be there or who has broken the law.
Implement- To start using a plan or system.
Injunction- An official order given by a law court, usually to stop someone from doing something.
Migrants- A migrant is someone who is moving from place to place (within his or her country or across borders), usually for economic reasons such as seasonal work.
Myriad- A very large number of something.
Persecution- To treat someone unfairly or cruelly over a long period of time because of their race, religion, or political beliefs, or to annoy someone by refusing to leave them alone.
Repatriation- The act or process of restoring or returning someone or something to the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship.
Suspended- To cause to stop temporarily.
Sources
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Garcia Cano, R., Suárez, A., & Miller, Z. (2025). White House says Colombia agrees to take deported migrants after Trump Tariff Showdown. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/colombia-immigration-deportation-flights-petro-trump-us-67870e41556c5d8791d22ec6767049fd
Isacson, A. (2025). Weekly u.s.-mexico border update: January drop, Darién Gap, Panama and Costa Rica, Guantanamo, budget. Retrieved from https://www.wola.org/2025/02/weekly-u-s-mexico-border-update-january-drop-darien-gap-panama-and-costa-rica-guantanamo-budget/#note2
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