Migrants, Deported to Panama Under Trump Plan, Detained in Remote Jungle Camp
It is unclear how long the group, who were deported under the Trump administration's sweeping effort to expel unauthorized migrants, will be detained at the jungle camp.
Conditions at the site are primitive, the detainees said. Diseases, including dengue are endemic to the region, and the government has denied access to journalists and aid organizations.
'It looks like a zoo, there are fenced cages,' said one deportee, Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old migrant from Iran who said after arriving at the camp following a four-hour drive from Panama City. 'They gave us a stale piece of bread. We are sitting on the floor.'
The group includes eight children, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak on the record. Lawyers have said it is illegal to detain people in Panama for more than 24 hours without a court order.
The transfer is the latest move in a weeklong saga for a group of about 300 migrants who arrived in the United States hoping to to seek asylum. The group was sent to Panama, which has agreed to aid President Trump in his plan to deport millions of undocumented migrants.
The agreement is part of a larger strategy by the Trump administration to export some of its most difficult migration challenges to other nations. The United States, for varying reasons, cannot easily deport people to countries like Afghanistan, Iran and China, but by applying intense pressure it has managed to convince Panama to take some of them.
After being sent to Panama, the deported migrants are no longer subject to United States law.
Asked for details about the transfer of migrants to the jungle camp, a spokesman for Panama's security ministry, Aurelio Martínez, said he was unaware that migrants had been moved there.
Costa Rica is also taking some deportees, migrants originally from Central Asia and India and has said it plans to repatriate them. A flight from the United States was expected to arrive in Costa Rica on Wednesday.
Upon arrival in Panama City last week, the 300 or so migrants were taken to a downtown hotel, called the Decapolis, and barred from leaving, several of them told The New York Times in calls and text messages. A lawyer seeking to represent many of them, Jenny Soto Fernández, was blocked at least four times from visiting them in the hotel, she said.
On Tuesday morning, an article published by The Times attracted enormous attention to the migrants' situation, and members of the Panamanian news media began surrounding the hotel.
On Tuesday night, guards at the hotel told people to pack their bags, said Ms. Ghasemzadeh, the migrant from Iran. Several buses arrived and guards led them aboard, as witnessed by a reporter working for The New York Times. Then the bus traveled out of Panama City, east and then farther east, to the province of Darién.
On the bus, at least one woman cried, according to a photograph sent by a person on the bus.
The camp where the 100 or so migrants will stay is called San Vicente, and sits at the end of a jungle, also called the Darién, which links Panama to Colombia. The camp was built years ago as a stopover point for migrants coming north from Colombia through the Darién jungle and into Panama, a harrowing part of the journey north to the United States.
Now, the Panamanian government is using it for deportees.
On Tuesday, Panama's security minister, Frank Ábrego, told reporters that 170 of the 300 or so migrants had volunteered to be sent back to their countries of origin, journeys that would be arranged by the United Nations International Organization for Migration.
He added that the migrants were not 'detained' by the Panamanian government, but rather 'are under our protection.'
'What we agreed with the United States government is that they remain and are in our temporary custody for their protection,' he said.
The Panamanian government has previously said the migrants had no criminal records.
On Wednesday morning, from the Darién region, Ms. Ghasemzadeh described a sweltering encampment, overrun with cats and dogs.
Then, she sent a text message saying that the authorities were confiscating all phones. Her last words: 'Please try to help us.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
3 minutes ago
- Axios
D.C. religious leaders blast Trump crackdown as 24/7 federal patrols ramp up
The Trump administration's D.C. crackdown was ramping up National Guard deployment and 24/7 federal patrols on Wednesday night, drawing a sharp rebuke from religious leaders in the U.S. capital. The big picture: President Trump's maintains his unprecedented action in declaring a " crime emergency" in D.C. was necessary, but the interfaith group said his " sweeping language" to justify it is "inaccurate and dehumanizing, increasing the risk of indiscriminate arrests and the use of excessive force." What they're saying:" Even one violent crime is one too many, and all Washingtonians deserve to live in safety. But safety cannot be achieved through political theatre and military force," per the statement from the group that includes Bishop Mariann Budde — who upset Trump at a January prayer service when she implored him to "have mercy" on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. "It requires honesty and sustained collaboration between government, civic, and private partners — work now being sidelined," the statement reads. "Inflammatory rhetoric distracts from that work, even as the administration has cut more than $1 billion from programs proven to reduce crime, including law enforcement support, addiction and mental health treatment, youth programs, and affordable housing," the statement said. Of note: "The president has likened his intentions for Washington — and possibly other cities — to the harsh measures already used against migrants, tactics that have resulted in thousands detained in inhumane conditions and many deported without due process," they added. The group is calling on the city's political and civic leaders to "reject fear-based governance and work together in a spirit of dignity and respect — so that safety, justice, and compassion prevail in our city." For the record: The D.C. religious leaders involved in the statement, titled "Fear Is Not a Strategy for Safety," along with Budde are: Washington National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith; Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, co-senior rabbi at Adas Israel Congregation; Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling, episcopal leader of the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware and Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky director of Intergroup Relations and rabbi in residence at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington; The Rev. John Molina-Moore, general presbyter for National Capital Presbytery; Bishop Leila Ortiz, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Rabbi Jon Roos,Temple Sinai; and Rabbi Susan Shankman, Washington Hebrew Congregation also signed onto the statement. Scenes from D.C. as federal patrols stepped up
New York Post
3 minutes ago
- New York Post
Appeals court allows Trump to cut $2 billion in foreign aid
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that President Trump can withhold some $2 billion in foreign aid payments, overturning a lower-court order that had blocked the administration's plans to slash disbursements from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia lifted Biden-appointed District Judge Amir Ali's temporary restraining order, which forced USAID to continue making billions of dollars in foreign assistance payments for work already done by organizations the agency contracted with. Ali issued the restraining order in February in response to a lawsuit filed by two nonprofit organizations, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network, after Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid funding on his first day in office. Advertisement 3 President Trump speaks to the press about deploying federal law enforcement agents in Washington to bolster the local police presence, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington, DC, on Aug. 11, 2025. REUTERS Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, noted in the majority opinion Wednesday that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring a case against the Trump administration's funding freeze. 'The district court erred in granting that relief because the grantees lack a cause of action to press their claims,' Henderson wrote. Advertisement The nonprofits had argued that the president exceeded his authority by virtually abolishing USAID and cutting congressionally approved spending. Henderson, joined in the majority by Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee, ruled that under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, only the Government Accountability Office – a congressional watchdog agency – had standing to challenge the president's order to withhold foreign aid. Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, slammed the funding freeze as 'unlawful' and warned it could lead to 'tyranny' in her dissenting opinion. 3 A federal appeals court on Wednesday cleared President Trump to withhold $2 billion in foreign aid, reversing a lower court's block on his plan to cut USAID disbursements. REUTERS Advertisement Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters 'The court's acquiescence in and facilitation of the Executive's unlawful behavior derails the carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power that serves as the greatest security against tyranny – the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch,' Pan wrote. A White House Office of Management and Budget spokesperson hailed the ruling, telling Reuters it would halt 'radical left dark money groups' from 'maliciously interfering with the president's ability to spend responsibly and to administer foreign aid in a lawful manner in alignment with his America First policies.' The Trump administration had previously petitioned the Supreme Court to lift Ali's restraining order, but in a 5-4 ruling, the high court rejected the bid. Advertisement 3 President Trump speaks during a visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on Aug. 13, 2025. REUTERS In February, the State Department outlined plans to eliminate roughly $60 billion in foreign aid spending and terminate 92% of grants issued by USAID. The figures were included in a State Department memo detailing the results of a foreign aid audit ordered by Trump. The audit identified nearly 15,000 grants and targeted almost 10,000 for elimination — the majority of which were issued by USAID. USAID was one of the first federal agencies that Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, formerly led by billionaire Elon Musk, targeted for massive cuts based on allegations of widespread waste, fraud and abuse within the agency. In July, Congress approved a White House recession request that clawed back about $8 billion earmarked for USAID.
Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Maine clinics hope to get blocked Medicaid funds restored as they sue Trump administration over cuts
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A network of clinics that provides health care in Maine is expected to ask a judge Thursday to restore its Medicaid funding while it fights a Trump administration effort to keep federal money from going to abortion providers. President Donald Trump's policy and tax bill, known as the ' big beautiful bill,' blocked Medicaid money from flowing to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. The parameters in the bill also stopped funding from reaching Maine Family Planning, a much smaller provider that provides health care services in one of the poorest and most rural states in the Northeast. Maine Family Planning filed a federal lawsuit last month seeking to restore reimbursements. Lawyers and representatives for Maine Family Planning say its 18 clinics provide vital services across the state including cervical cancer screenings, contraception and primary care to low-income residents. They also say the funding cut occurred even though Medicaid dollars are not used for its abortion services. 'Without Medicaid, MFP will be forced to stop providing all primary care for all patients — regardless of their insurance status — by the end of October,' the organization said in a statement, adding that about 8,000 patients receive family planning and primary care from the network. It also said many Maine Family Planning clinics 'provide care in very rural areas of the state where there are no other health care providers, and around 70% of their patients rely exclusively on MFP and will not see any other health care provider in a given year.' In court documents, Anne Marie Costello, deputy director for the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services, called the request to restore funding 'legally groundless' and said it 'must be firmly rejected.' 'The core of its claim asks this Court to revive an invented constitutional right to abortion — jurisprudence that the Supreme Court decisively interred — and to do so in a dispute over federal funds,' Costello said. While advocates of cutting Medicaid for abortion providers focused on Planned Parenthood, the bill did not mention it by name. Instead it cut off reimbursements for organizations that are primarily engaged in family planning services — which generally include things such as contraception, abortion and pregnancy tests — and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. The U.S. Senate's parliamentarian rejected a 2017 effort to defund Planned Parenthood because it was written to exclude all other providers by barring payments only to groups that received more than $350 million a year in Medicaid funds. Maine Family Planning asserts in its legal challenge that the threshold was lowered to $800,000 this time around to make sure Planned Parenthood would not be the only entity affected. It is the only other organization that has come forward publicly to say its funding is at risk.
