Officials in Costa Rica and Panama are tightening restrictions on migrants, confiscating their passports and cellphones, limiting access to legal services, and relocating them between remote facilities.
The crackdown comes as both nations struggle to manage the sudden reversal of migration flows. The restrictive measures and lack of transparency have sparked criticism from human rights groups. However, government officials argue that these actions are necessary to protect migrants from human trafficking.
Both countries have received hundreds of deportees from various nations as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes to expedite deportations. At the same time, thousands of migrants, unable to enter the U.S., have begun heading south through Central America. “We’re a reflection of current United States immigration policy,” said Harold Villegas-Román, a political science professor and refugee expert at the University of Costa Rica.
“There is no focus on human rights, there is only focus on control and security. Everything is very murky, and not transparent.”
Harold Villegas-Román
Earlier this month, the USdeported 299 individuals, mostly from Asian countries, to Panama. So far, about 150 have accepted assistance from United Nations agencies and returned to their home countries, with the costs covered by the U.S.
Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez, Panama’s deputy foreign minister, said that a small number of deportees were in contact with international organizations and the U.N. Refugee Agency as they considered seeking asylum in Panama.
“None of them wants to stay in Panama. They want to go to the U.S. We cannot give them green cards, but we can get them back home and for a short period of time provide them with medical and psychological support as well as housing.”
Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez
Despite Trump’s previous threats to retake control of the Panama Canal, Ruiz-Hernandez denied that Panama had acted under U.S. pressure.
“This is in Panama’s national interest. We are a friend of the U.S. and want to work with them to send a signal of deterrence.”
Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez
He added that some deportees still in Panama would have the option of staying at a shelter originally designed to accommodate migrants heading north through the Darien Gap.
Plight of Deported Migrants and Legal Presentation
One Chinese deportee currently detained in the camp, speaking anonymously to avoid retaliation, said she had no choice in the matter.
She reported being deported to Panama without prior knowledge of her destination, without signing deportation documents in the U.S., and with no clarity about how long she would be held.
Like other deportees, she was moved from a Panama City hotel, where some migrants had held signs in their windows pleading for help, to an isolated camp in the Darien region. “This deprived us of our legal process,” she said.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino, when asked Thursday, February 27 about the lack of legal services, questioned whether deportees should even have access to lawyers.
Costa Rica and Panama have so far blocked press access to detention centers. Initially, Panama invited journalists to visit the Darien camp but later revoked the invitation. “Panama cannot end up becoming a black hole for deported migrants,” said Juan Pappier, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in the Americas.
“Migrants have the right to communicate with their families, to seek lawyers and Panama must guarantee transparency about the situation in which they find themselves.”
Juan Pappier
Mulino dismissed concerns over legal representation, saying, “Doesn’t it seem like a coincidence that those poor people have lawyers in Panama?”
Costa Rica has faced similar scrutiny. The country’s independent human rights entity has flagged “failures” by authorities in ensuring adequate conditions for deportees. The Ombudsman’s Office reported that migrants had their passports and other documents taken away and were not informed of their whereabouts or what would happen to them.
Panama and Costa Rica, long transit countries for people migrating north, have scrambled to address the new flow of migrants going south and organize the flow.
READ ALSO: Burna Boy Trends Over ‘Sex-For-Lambo’ Allegations
