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.
 

In Fresno, California, social media rumours about impending immigration raids at the city’s schools left some parents panicking — even though the raids were all hoaxes. In Denver, a real immigration raid at an apartment complex led to scores of students staying home from school, according to a lawsuit. And in Alice, Texas, a school official incorrectly told parents that Border Patrol agents might board school buses to check immigration papers.

President Donald Trump’s immigration policies already are affecting schools across the country, as officials find themselves responding to rising anxiety among parents and their children, including those who are here legally. Mr. Trump’s executive actions vastly expanded who is eligible for deportation and lifted a ban on immigration enforcement in schools.

While many public and school officials have been working to encourage immigrants to send their children to school, some have done the opposite. Meanwhile, Republicans in Oklahoma and Tennessee have put forward proposals that would make it difficult — or even impossible — for children in the country illegally and U.S.-born children of parents without documentation to attend school at all.

As they weigh the risks, many families have struggled with separating facts from rumor.

In the Alice Independent School District in Texas, school officials told parents that the district “received information” that U.S. Border Patrol agents could ask students about their citizenship status during field trips on school buses that pass through checkpoints about 60 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. The information ended up being false.

Angelib Hernandez of Aurora, Colorado, began keeping her children home from their schools a few days a week after Mr. Trump’s inauguration. Now she doesn’t send them at all.

She’s worried immigration agents will visit her children’s schools, detain them and separate her family.

“They’ve told me, ‘Hopefully we won’t ever be detained by ourselves,’” she said. “That would terrify them.”

Ms. Hernandez and her children arrived about a year ago and applied for asylum. She was working through the proper legal channels to remain in the U.S., but changes in immigration policies have made her status tenuous.

In the past week, her fears have intensified. Now, she says, her perception is “everyone” — from Spanish-language media to social media to other students and parents — is giving the impression that immigration agents plan to enter Denver-area schools. The school tells parents that kids are safe. “But we don’t trust it.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are not known to have entered schools anywhere. But the possibility has alarmed families enough that some districts are pushing for a change in the policy allowing agents to operate in schools.

Denver Public Schools last week sued the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the Trump administration of interfering with the education of young people in its care. Denver took in 43,000 migrants from the southern border last year, including children who ended up in the city’s public schools. Attendance at schools where migrant kids are concentrated has fallen in recent weeks, the district said in the lawsuit, saying the immigration raid at a local apartment complex was a factor.

The support Denver schools have given to students and families to help through the uncertainty involves “tasks that distract and divert resources from DPS’s core and essential educational mission,” lawyers for the district said in the lawsuit.

Around the country, conservatives have been questioning whether immigrants without legal status should even have the right to a public education.

Oklahoma’s Republican state superintendent, Ryan Walters, pushed a rule that would have required parents to show proof of citizenship — a birth certificate or passport — to enrol their children in school. The rule would have allowed parents to register their children even if they could not provide proof, but advocates say it would have strongly discouraged them from doing so. Even the state’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, thought the rule went too far — and vetoed it.

In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers have put forward a bill that would allow school districts to decide whether to admit students without papers. They say they hope to invite legal challenges, which would give them a chance to overturn a four-decade-old precedent protecting the right of every child in the country to get an education

The implications of immigration policy for U.S. schools are enormous. Fwd.us, a group advocating for criminal justice and immigration reform, estimated in 2021 that 600,000 K-12 students in the U.S. lacked legal status. Nearly 4 million students — many of them born in the U.S. — have a parent living in the country illegally.

Immigration raids have been shown to impact academic performance for students — even those who are native-born. In North Carolina and California, researchers have found lower attendance and a drop in enrollment among Hispanic students when local police participate in a program that deputizes them to enforce immigration law. Another study found test scores of Hispanic students dropped in schools near the sites of workplace raids.

In Fresno, attendance has dropped since Mr. Trump took office by anywhere from 700 to 1,000 students a day. Officials in the central California district have received countless panicked calls from parents about rumored immigration raids – including about raids at schools, said Carlos Castillo, chief of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Fresno Unified School District. The feared school raids have all been hoaxes.

“It goes beyond just the students who … have citizenship status or legal status,” Mr. Castillo said. Students are afraid for their parents, relatives and friends, and they’re terrified that immigration agents might raid their schools or homes, he said.

A school principal recently called Castillo in tears after a family reached out to say they were too afraid to go buy groceries. The principal went shopping for the family and delivered $100 in groceries to their home — and then sat with the family and cried, Castillo said.

The district has been working with families to inform them of their rights and advise them on things like liquidating assets or planning for the custody of children if the parents leave the U.S. The district has partnered with local organizations that can give legal advice to families and has held almost a dozen meetings, including some on Zoom.

Washington:

The war of words between US Border Czar Tom Homan and Pope Francis has escalated, with Homan firing back at the Vatican’s leader over his criticism of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies. In a televised interview, Homan accused Pope Francis of hypocrisy, pointing to the Vatican’s own robust security measures, including a wall around the Vatican.

“They have a wall around the Vatican,” Homan said. “If you illegally enter the Vatican, the crime is serious. You’ll be charged with a serious crime and jailed. So he can protect the Vatican where he lives. He can build a wall where he lives, but the American people are not allowed that.”

Homan also called on Pope Francis to focus on addressing issues within the Catholic Church, saying “The Pope ought to stick to the Catholic Church and fix that. That’s a mess.”

NEW: Border Czar Tom Homan responds to Catholic outcry over Trump’s deportation operation, calls out the Pope for living behind massive 30 foot walls.

Homan told the Pope to fix the Catholic church before he starts criticizing the United States.

“They have a wall around the… pic.twitter.com/YTRoZ7DIH5

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 25, 2025

Pope Francis has been a vocal advocate for migrant rights, criticising restrictive immigration policies. Nearly a decade after calling Trump “not Christian” for his plans to build a US-Mexico border wall, the pontiff reiterated his stance during an appearance on the Italian talk show Che Tempo Che Fa.

“If true, this will be a disgrace,” Francis said of Trump’s deportation pledges. “It makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill. This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.”

The Pope’s comments came as the Trump administration has intensified deportation operations, with immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) arresting 538 people on Thursday and 593 on Friday, some of whom were flown out of the country on military planes. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the efforts as part of the administration’s “largest deportation operation in history,” aligning with Trump’s campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

The exchange between Homan and Pope Francis highlights the deep divisions over immigration policy in the United States. As the Trump administration continues to enforce stricter immigration rules, critics argue that the policies are inhumane and go against American values. Supporters, on the other hand, argue that the policies are necessary to maintain national security and enforce the rule of law.
 

In a move that could potentially delay President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to crack down on immigration, the Biden administration has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 900,000 immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan. This decision, announced just days before Trump’s inauguration, grants these individuals a deportation reprieve and access to work permits for an additional 18 months.

The move is seen as a strategic effort to safeguard the rights of vulnerable immigrants, who have been living and working in the US under TPS. By extending the program, the Biden administration is effectively putting in place a temporary barrier against any potential attempts by the Trump administration to dismantle or significantly alter the program.

TPS has become a contentious issue, with Republicans arguing that it has been granted too liberally to too many foreigners, and acts as a draw to migrants to come to the US illegally. However, the program has been expanded aggressively under Biden, with over 1 million people from 17 countries currently living in the US under TPS.

The extension of TPS for Venezuelans, in particular, is significant, given the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited the “inhumane” government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a third term on Friday, as justification for the extension.

Countries affected by the TPS extension:

– Venezuela: Over 600,000 Venezuelans will benefit from the extension, which is based on the “humanitarian emergency” the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the Maduro regime.
– El Salvador: More than 230,000 Salvadorans are protected under the program, which was first extended to the country in 2001 after a series of earthquakes.
– Ukraine: Approximately 100,000 people from Ukraine will benefit from the extension, which is based on the ongoing conflict in the region.
– Sudan: 1,900 individuals from Sudan will also benefit from the extension.

The TPS program was established under President George H.W. Bush as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. It is intended to provide foreigners already in the US with protections from deportation amid political strife, natural disasters, or armed conflict in their home countries.
 

President-elect Donald Trump plans to launch a mass deportation operation targeting millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and with temporary protections once he takes office on Jan. 20, a challenging initiative that could split apart families and affect U.S. businesses.

There were roughly 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally or with a temporary status at the start of 2022, a figure that some analysts say has increased to 13-14 million. Those with temporary protections are not immediately deportable and many live in “sanctuary” states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

WHERE DO IMMIGRANTS WITHOUT LEGAL STATUS LIVE?

California was the state with the most immigrants in the U.S. illegally with some 2.2 million in 2022, according to estimates by the Center for Migration Studies of New York, a nonpartisan think tank.

Texas was close behind with 1.8 million, followed by Florida (936,000), New York (672,000). New Jersey (495,000) and Illinois (429,000).

California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois – all Democratic strongholds – are among 11 states with “sanctuary” laws or policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

Some 44% of immigrants in the U.S. illegally lived in sanctuary states in 2022, according to the migration center’s estimate. That figure does not include those in sanctuary cities and counties in places without a state-wide law, such as New Mexico.

Most of the immigrants taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are caught illegally crossing the border or are referred from state and local prisons and jails.

Law enforcement in sanctuary states typically refuse to alert ICE when they detain or release an immigrant eligible for deportation.

WHERE DO IMMIGRANTS WITHOUT LEGAL STATUS COME FROM?

Nearly half of the immigrants in the U.S. illegally in 2022 came from Mexico, amounting to 4.8 million of 11 million overall, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report.

Other top countries were Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Since January 2022, some 2 million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were either caught crossing illegally or allowed to enter via Biden-era humanitarian programs, according to DHS statistics.

Trump intends to end the Biden entry programs, including one for migrants with U.S. sponsors and another that allows migrants in Mexico to use an app to enter through a legal border crossing.

WHERE DO IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S. ILLEGALLY WORK?

The vast majority of the immigrants in the U.S. illegally in 2022 were prime working age, according to the DHS report. About 8.7 million of the 11 million were ages 18-54.

Farm groups have urged Trump to spare their workers from his promised mass deportations, arguing their removal would upend the U.S. food supply chain.

Think tanks and the U.S. government have varying estimates for the number of agricultural workers that live in the U.S. illegally. The Center for Migration Studies of New York found the total number to be 283,000 in 2022, with about half in California. U.S. government estimates suggest the nationwide total could be closer to 1 million.

HOW MANY AMERICANS LIVE IN ‘MIXED-STATUS HOUSEHOLDS’?

The immigration advocacy group FWD.us projected that there would be 14.5 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally by January 2025, up from the 11 million in 2022.

Of those, 10.1 million live with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, what’s known as a “mixed-status household.”

The figure suggests that a large-scale deportation initiative would likely split up families and could affect millions of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

At least 5.1 million U.S. citizen children live with an immigrant parent who lacks legal status, according to a FWD.us analysis of government data.

Those families could face the prospect of relocating to another country together or be separated.

HOW LONG HAVE IMMIGRANTS WHO LACK LEGAL STATUS LIVED IN THE U.S.?

Some 54% of immigrants in the U.S. illegally had lived in the country for more than 10 years as of 2022, according to the report by Center for Migration Studies of New York.

About 25 percent had been in the country for less than five years.

HOW MANY IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S. NOW LACK LEGAL STATUS?

DHS, the Center for Migration Studies of New York and other think tanks have used U.S. Census data and other figures to estimate that there were about 11 million immigrants in the U.S. in 2022 who either lacked legal immigration status or had temporary humanitarian protections.

DHS enforcement and entry statistics suggest that at least 5 million more immigrants entered the U.S. without legal status or with a temporary humanitarian status since then.

However, some of those immigrants have since been deported, voluntarily left, obtained legal status or died over the same period. An up-to-date estimate that factors in all of these outcomes is not available.

ARE PEOPLE WITH TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS COUNTED IN THESE ESTIMATES?

Yes, the estimates of immigrants in the U.S. illegally typically include people who have temporary humanitarian protections, meaning they would not be immediately deportable.

The protections include 1.1 million people covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as of Sept. 30. TPS grants deportation relief and access to work permits to people already in the U.S. if their home countries are deemed unsafe due to armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances.

The designations last six- to 18-months but can be renewed indefinitely. Trump sought to end most TPS enrollment during his 2017-2021 presidency but was blocked by federal courts.

He is expected to try to end most TPS enrollment as the protections expire, but the process would face litigation.

Thousands more have a similar status known as Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) that Trump could also try to roll back.

Another 535,000 people have deportation relief and work permits through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for “Dreamer” immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Trump tried to end the DACA program during his first term but was rebuffed by the Supreme Court.

Trump is expected to again try to end DACA although he said in a recent interview that he would be open to a deal to protect “Dreamers.”

The state of Texas is currently leading a lawsuit against the program that could make its way back to the Supreme Court during Trump’s presidency.
 

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

Washington:

President-elect Donald Trump is determined to not do business with countries that refuse to take back migrants.

“I’ll get them into every country, or we won’t do business with those countries,” Trump said in an interview with Time magazine after being picked as the 2024 “Person of the Year”. This is the second time he has been honoured with the title. He was recognised for his “historic comeback”.

“I want them out, and the countries have got to take them back, and if they don’t take them back, we won’t do business with those countries, and we will tariff those countries very substantially,” he added.

As Trump had already made clear by making border security and immigration policies the cornerstone of his campaign.

He said that he will make business “very hard” for countries that refuse to take back migrants, and they will be slapped with “substantial tariffs”.

“Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care. Honestly, whatever it takes to get them out. Again, I’ll do it absolutely within the confines of the law, but if it needs new camps, but I hope we’re not going to need too many because I want to get them out, and I don’t want them sitting in camp for the next 20 years.”

The soon-to-be 47th president also said that he does not want families to be separated, so regardless of their immigration status, parents and children will be deported together.

He reiterated that the US will let people in but only legally.

“We don’t want people to come in from jails. We don’t want the jails of Venezuela and many other countries, and not just South American countries. We don’t want the jails to be opened up into our country. We’re not accepting their prisoners. We’re not accepting their murders. We’re not accepting their people from mental institutions. We’re not doing it”, he said.

Trump emphasised that he intends to deport illegal immigrants by military force. “We’ll get National Guard, and we’ll go as far as I’m allowed to go, according to the laws of our country,” he answered.