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, United States:

With Donald Trump in power now, authorities have started cracking down on illegal migrants who have made a perilous journey in a quest for the American dream. Hundreds of illegal migrants were arrested and deported in a massive operation that comes just three days after the new administration was sworn in.

Sharing the figures, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the US authorities have arrested 538 illegal migrants and deported hundreds using a military aircraft.

“The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors,” Ms Leavitt said in an online post on Thursday. “Trump Administration also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft. The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept,” she added.

White House shared a “small preview” into the work the Trump administration is doing to “secure our nation’s borders.” It listed the names of some of the people arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the crimes committed by them. Crimes include rape, sexual conduct against a child, and continuous sexual abuse of a child aged 14 or younger.

DAILY IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT REPORTING FROM ICE

538 Total Arrests

373 Detainers Lodged

Examples of the criminals arrested below

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 24, 2025

Following the inaugural ceremony on January 20, US President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders including one of “Protecting the American people against invasion.” The order states that over the last four years, the US saw an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration. “Millions of illegal aliens crossed our borders or were permitted to fly directly into the United States on commercial flights and allowed to settle in American communities, in violation of longstanding Federal laws.”

The government order further states that many of these “aliens unlawfully within the United States” present significant “threats to national security and public safety”, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans.

On January 23, the US Congress gave a green signal to a GOP-led bill – Laken Riley Act – on the detention and deportation of undocumented migrants who enter the country without authorization and are charged with certain crimes.

Washington DC:

In a first legislative win to President Donald Trump, the US Congress on Wednesday gave the final approval to a GOP-led bill that would require the detention and deportation of undocumented migrants who enter the country without authorization and are charged with certain crimes. The bill – titled the Laken Riley Act –  capped the opening salvo in a broader crackdown on immigration that the President has promised.

The legislation received 263 to 156 with 46 Democrats voting in its favour, a sign of the growing cross-party consensus around taking a hard-line approach against those who enter the US illegally.

The bill is named after a 22-year-old Georgia student who was killed last year while out for a run. An undocumented migrant from Venezuela was convicted and sentenced to life without parole. The convict had previously been arrested in a shoplifting case but had not been detained. Laken Riley’s case reignited a debate over immigration and crime in America. 

Under the provisions of the bill, the Department of Homeland Security is required to detain undocumented migrants– people who are in the US unlawfully or without legal status– if they have been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or have admitted to certain criminal offences, including theft and burglary, according to a report by The New York Times. 

The House of Representatives passed the bill after the Senate debated changes to it last week, where amendments were adopted to reportedly expand the list of criminal offences covered under the bill to include assault on law enforcement officers and crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Republicans made the legislation their top priority after winning the government trifecta. Still, it would not have been able to advance to final passage without support from key Democrats as Republicans control only a narrow majority.

Democrats who opposed the legislation reportedly argued that the bill could undercut US foreign policy by giving state attorney generals and federal judges overly expansive power with respect to blocking visas. Though it is passed out of Congress to reach President Trump’s office– who on Monday started his second term by issuing a raft of executive orders that kicked off his immigration crackdown– there are still hurdles ahead for its implementation.

Per a CNN report, the Laken Riley Act will require a ramp-up period and a boost in funding. “Full implementation would be impossible for ICE to execute within existing resources,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a memo to lawmakers this month.

According to the agency’s estimate, it would need an additional 110,000 beds to support the population of people the new act covers, far exceeding its current inventory. ICE is funded for 41,500 detention beds and already had over 39,000 people in its custody till December.

The agency said that its initial cost estimate of $3.2 billion to execute the act “does not represent the full cost of implementation.”

“If additional resources are provided, a ramp-up period would be needed due to implementation challenges such as hiring, detention bed availability, and contracting/ acquisition timelines,” the memo said.

New Delhi:

Days after the US authorities deported a batch of Indian nationals who were staying in that country illegally, New Delhi Saturday said it hopes that with India-US cooperation on mobility and migration, “we will be able to deter illegal immigration”.

At his weekly briefing in Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India engages in “regular dialogue” with the United States on migration and mobility.

“On October 22, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a large-frame charter removal flight to the Republic of India of Indian nationals who did not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” the DHS said in a statement last week.

This week’s flight demonstrates the department’s continued commitment to pursuing “sustained cooperation” with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling, it had said.

Jaiswal, in response to a query on this deportation, said, “You would have seen, recently we had some deportations from the US. We have regular dialogues with the United States on migration and mobility. And the idea behind that is to create more avenues for legal migration.” As part of this, “our regular consular dialogues and arrangements, we have facilitated the movement of people who are staying in the US illegally or are a part of an irregular movement”, he added.

“This has been going on for some time. We hope that with this cooperation and our engagement with the US on mobility and migration, we will be able to deter illegal immigration,” the MEA spokesperson said.

About 1,100 Indian nationals, who were staying in the United States illegally, were repatriated to India through charter and commercial flights during the 2023-24 American financial year ending September 30, a senior official in the US DHS said on Tuesday.

In a virtual briefing, Royce Murray, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, US DHS, in response to a query related to the October 22 charter flight that deported a batch of Indian nationals, had also said that “no minor” was among them on that removal flight, adding these were all male and female adults. 

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

New Delhi:

Days after the US authorities deported a batch of Indian nationals who were staying in that country illegally, New Delhi Saturday said it hopes that with India-US cooperation on mobility and migration, “we will be able to deter illegal immigration”.

At his weekly briefing in Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India engages in “regular dialogue” with the United States on migration and mobility.

“On October 22, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a large-frame charter removal flight to the Republic of India of Indian nationals who did not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” the DHS said in a statement last week.

This week’s flight demonstrates the department’s continued commitment to pursuing “sustained cooperation” with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling, it had said.

Jaiswal, in response to a query on this deportation, said, “You would have seen, recently we had some deportations from the US. We have regular dialogues with the United States on migration and mobility. And the idea behind that is to create more avenues for legal migration.” As part of this, “our regular consular dialogues and arrangements, we have facilitated the movement of people who are staying in the US illegally or are a part of an irregular movement”, he added.

“This has been going on for some time. We hope that with this cooperation and our engagement with the US on mobility and migration, we will be able to deter illegal immigration,” the MEA spokesperson said.

About 1,100 Indian nationals, who were staying in the United States illegally, were repatriated to India through charter and commercial flights during the 2023-24 American financial year ending September 30, a senior official in the US DHS said on Tuesday.

In a virtual briefing, Royce Murray, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, US DHS, in response to a query related to the October 22 charter flight that deported a batch of Indian nationals, had also said that “no minor” was among them on that removal flight, adding these were all male and female adults. 

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