The U.S. government’s mass deportations have sparked chaos and concern in Central America. Thousands of people shut out of the U.S., including hundreds of deportees, are moving south to countries like Costa Rica and Panama in what some journalists have dubbed a “reverse migration.” Just this month, 299 mostly Asian migrants were sent to Panama from the U.S. The Costa Rican government said that 50-75 south-bound migrants enter the country every day. Panama and Costa Rica have housed many migrants in camps in the Darien region. Authorities have also reportedly confiscated migrants’ passports and phones, denied them legal services, and prevented journalists from having access to the camps.
Some are skeptical of whether Panama’s compliance with the U.S. deportations is voluntary or under pressure, especially in the wake of Trump’s threats to take control of the Panama Canal. But Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez, Panama’s deputy foreign minister, said, “[t]his is in Panama’s national interest. We are a friend of the U.S. and want to work with them to send a signal of deterrence.”
The migrants themselves have another perspective. Many asylum seekers’ dreams of getting refugee status in the U.S. have been deterred by the deportation policies and suspension of refugee resettlement. NBC News cites Venezuelan migrant Kimberlyn Pereira’s story as a example. Pereira and her family were unable to get through the asylum process, so they tried to get back to Venezuela, but the Panamanian government sent them to another Panamanian port. From there, they would need to take a boat back to their home country, but the boats are dangerous and unregulated. These boats used to be part of a “VIP smuggling route” that migrants could pay to take and avoid crossing the deadly Darien Gap. The smuggling industry has now collapsed, but smugglers are still taking advantage of the situation by charging $200-250 to ferry people to Colombia, especially in the absence of much regulation. Many riders fear persecution and the political climate of their home countries such as Venezuela, and so opt to migrate to other countries like Colombia or Peru.
There are many things that are problematic with this situation. First, the U.S. government’s actions are unnecessarily harsh and cruel. Upending the lives of people who have established homes in the country, as well as crushing the hopes of asylum seekers fleeing danger, contradicts the principle of the American Dream that many Americans admire. Additionally, the dehumanization of migrants in Central America, treating them as inconveniences and not offering any transparency about their situations, is unacceptable. Countries in Central America and the U.S. should hold a joint effort to secure safe destinations for the migrants, especially for the migrants who face persecution or mortal danger in their home country. The U.N. or other international organizations should mediate these efforts, particularly in inspecting camps for basic living conditions, and ensuring that refugees are not being sent back to the dangerous situations they are fleeing from. Additionally, port authorities should disrupt the smugglers exploiting migrants for money by offering alternative modes of transportation that are verified to be safer than smuggling boats.
The human rights concerns caused by this new reverse migration pattern seems to be a major humanitarian crisis in the making. Many nations across the Americas are complicit in the harm and uncertainty that migrants are facing. Thus, it will require multilateral efforts to ensure that policies are carried out safely and humanely.
