US to pay for migrant flights from Panama in deal to close Darién Gap

• The US is trying to close the Darién Gap, a land route used by thousands of people to reach the borders.
• It pays for the repatriation of migrants from Panama in exchange for closing the corridor.
• Hundreds of thousands of migrants travel to the US from South America via Panama.

The US has agreed to fund the repatriation of people who entered Panama illegally, in exchange for closing a key corridor for migrants traveling overland to the US-Mexico border.

“This program will assist the Panamanian government in deporting foreign nationals who do not have a legal basis to remain in Panama,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a statement Monday.

The funding includes the US paying for flights from Panama and “supporting training and capacity building to strengthen and institutionalize safe, humane repatriation processes,” the statement said.

The amount of money released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for these flights has not been disclosed.

According to the Associated Press news agency, under the new agreement, the US will pay for charter and commercial flights to return migrants to their home countries.

Two senior government officials, who were not named, were quoted as saying that Panama will determine who is repatriated based on its own laws.

The agreement, signed by Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas, comes as Panama installs its new president, José Raúl Mulino.

Panama will close the Darién Gap, a treacherous stretch of rainforest that at least 520,000 migrants walked through in 2023 on their way north. Another 174,000 people were recorded using the route this year.

The corridor, which is frequently used by cartels and paramilitary forces, begins in Colombia and ends in Panama. It typically takes about 5 days or more of arduous trekking to complete the 66-mile journey.

At several popular exits from the Darién Gap, humanitarian organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF are active, providing medical aid and basic supplies to the migrants, but are increasingly overwhelmed by a growing influx of trekkers.

Normally, the Panamanian government does not repatriate migrants who enter the country through the Darién Gap, but it has set up some infrastructure to accommodate them if they do pass through.

Once in Panama, many migrants continue their journey through Central America, crossing at least five international borders to reach Mexico and eventually the southern border of the United States.

U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants in the Southwest reached record highs in December, with more than 301,000 incidents recorded. Nearly 2.5 million encounters with migrants were reported in fiscal year 2023, and this year’s numbers are on track to reach similar levels.

Authorities are already struggling to manage the Darién Gap

Yet closing the Darién Gap is no small feat. In April 2023, the US and Panama launched a 60-day campaign to stem illegal migration from the corridor.

In June of that year, Panama sent 1,200 immigration agents, border police officers and members of the naval aviation service to tackle criminal groups that escort and exploit migrants traveling through the Darién Gap.

Hundreds of thousands of people continued to use the crossing afterward.

Panama’s new president, Mulino, has promised to solve the country’s immigration problems. He announced on his first day in office that the country would no longer be “a path open to thousands of people who enter our country illegally.”

Illegal immigration has become increasingly prominent in American politics, with Republican leaders accusing the Biden administration of being too lax on border security.

On June 4, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation temporarily restricting access to non-U.S. citizens who cross the southwest border illegally. His campaign noted that the seven-day average of encounters with border officials dropped by 40%.

But managing the immigration crisis has proven to be a delicate political and economic balancing act. Biden has previously come under fire from progressives for describing a Venezuelan migrant accused of murder as “an illegal alien.”

Several analysts also say immigrants have helped solve the U.S. labor shortage and that overly aggressive deportation programs, such as those proposed by presidential candidate Donald Trump, risk stalling the economy.