In a complex and sensitive situation, Panama is currently housing nearly 300 individuals from various countries, including Iran, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, who were deported from the United States under President Donald Trump. These migrants are being held in a hotel, where they are receiving medical attention and food as part of a migration agreement between Panama and the US, per Panama’s Security Minister Frank Abrego. However, they are not allowed to leave the hotel while international authorities arrange for their return to their countries of origin.

A significant challenge arises as more than 40% of these migrants are unwilling to return to their homelands voluntarily. Some have even resorted to displaying desperate messages on their hotel room windows, pleading for “help” and stating “We are not save (sic) in our country”.

The US has been using Panama as a transit country for deportees due to difficulties in deporting individuals directly to certain countries. Costa Rica is also expected to receive a similar flight of third-country deportees on Wednesday.

Abrego also clarified that 171 of the 299 deportees have agreed to return to their respective countries with assistance from the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency. However, the remaining 128 migrants are still being processed, and efforts are being made to find alternative destinations for them in third countries. One deported Irish citizen has already returned to her country, while those who refuse to return to their countries of origin will be temporarily held in a facility in the remote Darien province.

The Panamanian government has agreed to serve as a “bridge” for deportees, with the US covering all costs of the operation. This agreement was announced earlier this month, following a visit from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has faced political pressure over Trump’s threats to retake control of the Panama Canal, adding to the complexity of the situation.

The Panamanian Ombudsman’s Office is expected to provide further updates on the deportees’ situation, shedding more light on the challenges and potential solutions.
 

Washington DC:

US President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk a video posted by the White House showing immigrants in shackles being prepared to board a deportation flight from Seattle. The footage shared by the White House on social media showed illegal immigrants being put in cuffs and shackles while being prepared to board a deportation flight.

It showed the law enforcement officials lifting heavy chains attached to handcuffs and shackles chains from a basket and arranged on the airport tarmac alongside four additional sets of restraints before they were put on the migrants as they boarded the plane.

The White House labelled the footage as an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video. ASMR refers to a tingly feeling some people experience when watching videos featuring unusual sounds, like whispering or fingernails tapping on a surface.

The video was later reposted by Elon Musk on his X handle with the caption “Haha wow”.

Haha wow https://t.co/PXFXpiGU0U

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2025

The post caught further flak from netizens who dubbed Musk’s reaction as “disgusting” and “dehumanising.”

“This is disgusting. The fact that you think this is funny speaks volumes,” commented an X user on Musk’s post. 

“You are pathetic, @elonmusk. A small man who laughs at a video of undocumented immigrants in shackles boarding a plan for being deported,” wrote another.

Another X user pointed out that the treatment of deportees by the US government was not just sad but also “dehumanising”.

US President Donald Trump has launched a massive crackdown on immigration, with illegal migrants, including Indians, being deported to their homelands. Thousands of undocumented immigrants have already been sent back, including those from Guatemala, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China among other countries.

However, questions have been raised over the treatment mated to these deported immigrants as they are being hackled and handcuffed on their way back home. 

When faced with difficulty directly deporting some migrants to their homelands, the US is also using Panama as a “stopover”, with Costa Rica expected to receive a similar flight of third-country deportees later today (February 19).

New Delhi:

Women and children were not restrained on the deportation flight carrying the second batch of Indian nationals that arrived in Amritsar on February 15, sources confirmed to ANI.

Meanwhile, the aircraft carrying the third batch of Indian nationals who had allegedly migrated illegally to the US also landed at Amritsar Airport on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann assured that the deportees would be treated properly and that all necessary arrangements had been made.

The Chief Minister stated that the deportees would stay in Amritsar for a few hours before being taken to their respective states.

“Our kids are the ones which are coming here anyway, so from here no one can go hungry, we will make arrangements. We have also made staying arrangements for them. They will stay here for a few hours and then go to their respective states as the flights have been booked by the Ministry of External Affairs already,” Mr Mann said in a press conference in Amritsar on Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, CM Mann came down heavily at the Centre over the treatment of deported Indian nationals, who had allegedly illegally migrated to the US.Alleging a conspiracy to ‘defame’ Punjabis.

Mr Mann said, “There is a conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis. The first plane landed in Amritsar. Now, a second plane will land in Amritsar.

The MEA should tell the criteria based on which Amritsar was selected to land the aircraft. You select Amritsar to defame Punjab.”

This was the second such flight of deportees which has landed in Amritsar Airport after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Earlier on February 5, a US Air Force plane carrying Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US arrived in Punjab’s Amritsar.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is willing to take back its nationals if they live illegally in the United States and laid emphasis on the need to finish the “ecosystem” of human trafficking. PM Modi also expressed confidence that Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem.

“Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there. As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India – if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back,” PM Modi said, answering a query at the joint press conference with President Trump after their bilateral talks.

He said most of the people staying illegally are from ordinary families and are misguided by human traffickers.

“But it doesn’t stop just there for us. These are people from ordinary families. They are shown big dreams and most of them are such who are misled and brought here. So, we should attack this entire system of human trafficking. Together, it should be the effort of the US and India to destroy such an ecosystem from its roots so that human trafficking ends…Our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem, and we are confident that President Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)