Q24N (EFE) Panamanian authorities deported 130 Indian migrants on Friday on a charter flight to New Delhi financed by the United States, which is the first group of nationals from India to be expelled as part of the bilateral agreement between Panama and the United States, seeking to reduce the migratory flow to North America.
The flight from a US airline departed at 09:40 am local time from a military base at the Panama Pacific airport, on the outskirts of Panama’s capital.
In the group were five women, who arrived on the plane tied up with a white ribbon – not shackles – that some wore along with the traditional bracelets of newlyweds. Meanwhile, 125 men, mostly young, were also searched before boarding the aircraft.
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Many of these men were Sikhs. And although the most orthodox are obliged to wear a turban, only one wore a saffron-coloured one, while the rest wore their hair uncovered, tied back in the usual bun, as EFE was able to witness.
Some expressed fear of returning but gave up
“We have not said that (the migrants are returning) by their own decision. It is a deportation process for irregular migration (…) completely legal,” said the director of Migration, Roger Mujica, who explained that the passers-by are handcuffed for “security” but “human rights” are respected.
The same director assured that “four” of these Indian migrants “expressed fear” of returning to their country, but that after the “explanations” of the authorities “they gave up”.
This first flight of extracontinental migrants, which cost US$700,000 dollars, according to the US Embassy, is part of the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Panama on July 1, 2024, the same day of the inauguration of Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, which promised to significantly reduce the number of migrants crossing the Darién jungle, the natural border with Colombia, on their way to North America.
This bilateral agreement involves initial financing by the US of US6 million dollars, but authorities have clarified that both the funds and the number of flights could increase. Since August 20, 2024, at least four flights have already departed in groups of 30 migrants, three to Colombia and one to Ecuador.
According to this agreement, the migrants will be returned under the figure of repatriation or deportation “both those with criminal records and those who enter the country irregularly, which are all those who enter through Darién,” as the director of migration had pointed out in the past.
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Panamanian authorities estimated that in 2024 some 320,000 migrants will cross the Darién, with at least 242,000 already counted to the first week in September, which represents a reduction of 38% compared to the historical record of 520,000 who crossed last year, a decrease that they linked to the new immigration control policies implemented by the new Panamanian Executive.
Indians, seldom visible in Darien
According to data from 2023, of the 520,085 migrants who crossed the Darien, 328,650 were Venezuelan, while only 3,736 were from India.
Panamanian authorities collect this data in places like Bajo Chiquito, the first indigenous village at the exit of the jungle on the banks of the Tuquesa River, a check that includes biometric technology to identify criminals with international search warrants.
After arriving at Bajo Chiquito, migrants pay a ticket in canoes to descend the river for hours until they reach the vast shelter of Lajas Blancas, set up by Panamanian authorities with the support of humanitarian organizations.
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One day last April, among the migrants who got off the canoes, there was a group of 15 Indians.
“I have no idea what country this is, Panama?” said one of them in Hindi.
They did not want to speak on camera, but little by little they told EFE about part of their route. They came from Indian states such as Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, and many of them were Sikhs.
They made several stops by plane until they reached Brazil, and from there they began their journey north. In Darien, seven bandits stole their cell phones, money, and even clothes. “US$2,000 dollars in total,” they said. They were hungry and were excited to joke that they would be given chapati, a typical Indian bread.
Others look for routes that bring them closer to the southern border of the United States, such as flights to Nicaragua or other Central American countries.
In Mexico, they must overcome the last major obstacle: the border with the United States, where according to official US data, in the fiscal year between October 2022 and September 2023, a total of 96,917 Indians were intercepted, compared to 8,027 in the 2018-19 period before the pandemic.
Once that challenge has been overcome, there are now 725,000 Indians in an irregular situation in the United States, according to data from 2022, included in a study by the Pew Research Center, which represents the third largest group of irregular migrants in the country after Mexicans and Salvadorans.
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