Panama releases dozens of detained deportees from US into limbo following human rights criticism
Source: Associated Press
Panama releases dozens of detained deportees from US into limbo following human rights criticism
By MEGAN JANETSKY, ALMA SOLÍS and MATÍAS DELACROIX
Updated 12:53 PM EDT, March 9, 2025
PANAMA CITY (AP) — After weeks of lawsuits and human rights criticism, Panama on Saturday released dozens of migrants who were held for weeks in a remote camp after being deported from the United States, telling them they have 30 days to leave the Central American nation.
It thrust many like Hayatullah Omagh, a 29-year-old who fled Afghanistan in 2022 after the Taliban took control, into a legal limbo, scrambling to find a path forward.
“We are refugees. We do not have money. We cannot pay for a hotel in Panama City, we do not have relatives,” Omagh told the Associated Press in an interview. “I can’t go back to Afghanistan under any circumstances ... It is under the control of the Taliban, and they want to kill me. How can I go back?”
Authorities have said deportees will have the option of extending their stay by 60 days if they need it, but after that many like Omagh don’t know what they will do.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportations-migrants-panama-costa-rica-darien-rights-afghanistan-70f79684ac9e0701bc34e3e7144944c5