PANAMA CITY— After weeks of legal battles and human rights criticism, Panama released dozens of migrants on Saturday, including Afghan deportees, who had been detained in a remote camp following their expulsion from the United States. Authorities gave them 30 days to leave the country, leaving many in legal limbo.
Among those released was Hayatullah Omagh, a 29-year-old Afghan national, who fled Afghanistan in 2022 after the Taliban’s return to power.
“We are refugees. We have no money, no place to stay in Panama, and no family here,” Omagh told the Associated Press. “I cannot go back to Afghanistan under any circumstances. The Taliban want to kill me.”
Panama said deportees could apply for a 60-day extension, but many, like Omagh, have no clear path forward.
The migrants, from Afghanistan, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, and other countries, were released after being held for weeks in poor conditions in a government camp near Panama’s border with Colombia.
Upon arrival in Panama City, they were met by human rights groups and lawyers, who scrambled to provide them with shelter and resources.
Among them was 27-year-old Nikita Gaponov, a Russian national and LGBTQ+ asylum seeker, who said he had been detained at the U.S. border but denied the chance to apply for asylum.
“Once I get off this bus, I’ll be sleeping on the ground tonight,” Gaponov said.
For others, the release was not the end of their journey. Despite having already been deported, several migrants said they would try again to reach the United States.
The deportees were part of a deal between the Trump administration, Panama, and Costa Rica, aimed at expediting deportations by using the Central American nations as temporary holding points before return flights to migrants’ home countries could be arranged.
Critics have described it as a way for the U.S. to outsource its deportation process, raising serious human rights concerns.
Last month, detained deportees in a Panama City hotel held signs against their windows, pleading for help and saying they were afraid to return home. Those who refused repatriation were later transferred to the remote camp.
According to lawyers and human rights defenders, Panama and Costa Rica are becoming “black holes” for deportees, with little transparency on their legal status or rights.
Many deportees, including Afghans, say they cannot return home due to persecution, war, or repression.
Omagh, an atheist and a member of the Hazara ethnic minority, fears he would be killed under Taliban rule. Before seeking asylum in the U.S., he spent years moving between Pakistan, Iran, and other countries, only to be denied visas.
He was deported from the U.S. despite presenting himself to border officials and requesting asylum.
“My hope was freedom. Just freedom,” he said. “I asked many times to speak to an asylum officer, but they told me, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’”
While relieved to be out of the camp, Omagh described harsh conditions, including scarce food, extreme heat, and aggressive treatment by Panamanian authorities.
He and others recalled a week-long hunger strike by a Chinese detainee and a small riot that broke out when guards refused to return a migrant’s phone. The riot, they said, was violently suppressed by armed guards.
Panama has blocked journalists from accessing the camp and canceled a planned press visit last week, while denying reports of poor conditions.
International aid organizations have offered to help migrants relocate to a third country, but many say they have little hope of finding a nation willing to take them.
“They told us we could go to another country if that country accepts Afghans,” Omagh said. “But few nations issue visas to Afghans anymore.”
When he asked Panamanian authorities if he could apply for asylum there, he was told, “We do not accept asylum.”
Many deportees are left with nowhere to go.
“None of them wants to stay in Panama. They want to go to the U.S.,” said Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez, Panama’s deputy foreign minister, in an interview last month.
That was the case for one Chinese woman, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, fearing retaliation from Panamanian authorities.
Upon getting off the bus, her first priority was simple. “First, I want a Coca-Cola. Then, I will find a way back to the U.S.,” she said.
