Panama has decided to release dozens of migrants who had been detained for weeks in a remote camp after being deported by the United States. The government of the Central American country has decided to extend their stay for 60 days, if needed, as many of them are in a legal limbo.
"We are refugees. We have no money. We cannot afford a hotel in Panama City, we have no family here. I cannot go back to Afghanistan under any circumstances... It is under Taliban control and they want to kill me," expresses Hayatullah Omagh, a 29-year-old Afghan.
Omagh got off a bus in Panama City along with 65 migrants from China, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal, and other nations, after spending weeks detained in poor conditions by the Panamanian government, which aims to collaborate with Donald Trump "to send a deterrent signal" to people waiting to migrate. These deportees were part of an agreement between the US, Panama, and Costa Rica, where they would receive a large number of immigrants as a stopover while authorities arranged a way to send them back to their home countries.
In response to this situation, lawyers and human rights defenders have warned that Central American countries were becoming "black holes" for deportees. They also point out that the release was carried out by Panamanian authorities as a way to wash their hands of the situation.
On the other hand, the government led by José Raúl Mulino denies the accusations about the camp conditions, despite blocking journalists' access to the site. However, as an example of the experienced situation, Omagh mentions that "a Chinese man went on a hunger strike for a week in protest" and "there was also a disturbance because security guards refused to give a mobile phone to one of the deportees."
Several of the immigrants who arrived in Panama were fleeing violence and repression in Pakistan, Iran, or Russia, like 27-year-old Nikita Gaponov, who fled from the grip of Vladimir Putin's regime due to repression based on his sexual orientation. Gaponov was detained upon arrival in the United States, where he was denied the right to apply for asylum despite it being a right under international refugee law.
Omagh faced a similar situation, as "they did not allow me to speak with an asylum officer." Nevertheless, he feels "relieved" to leave the camp and has already been assisted by several organizations dedicated to ensuring human rights compliance.