The United States deportation effort against undocumented immigrants resulted in the removal of 300 people who came from India and went to Panama. The Decapolis Hotel in Panama City currently holds deportation detainees from multiple countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and Iran together with Indian migrants. Panama serves as a temporary base to accommodate migrants during the process of arranging their return to their home countries.
Images Show Desperate Deportees Pleading for Help from Hotel Windows
Panama’s government have provided public assurance that deportees at the Decapolis Hotel are being held voluntarily. However, pictures from the hotel show migrants displaying signs that say “Please help us” and “We are not safe” while being restricted to their hotel rooms under police supervision. Panama maintains a central position in deportation operations because it handles the transit of migrants whose homeland refuses to accept them back. Several costs for managing the operation come from the U.S. but Panama helps organise the return process.
According to Panama’s Security Minister, Frank Abrego, the migrants are receiving medical attention and essential services, including food. Of the nearly 300 deportees, 175 have voluntarily agreed to return to their home countries. Those who refuse repatriation are being transferred to a migrant shelter in Panama’s remote Darien province. The Darien jungle has become a well-known route for migrants travelling from South America toward the U.S. border, despite its dangerous conditions.
Indian Embassy Confirms Safety of Nationals
The Indian embassy in Panama reported that deported Indian nationals are sheltered at the hotel while consular teams have full access to them. The embassy maintains constant coordination with Panama authorities for the safety of these individuals.
In early February more than 300 Indian deportees arrived in Amritsar, Punjab through three U.S. military flights. The effort to manage immigrant flow has brought Panama and Costa Rica into a central role because of growing pressure from other nations to help with deportation work.
