Indian deportees from US arrive in Panama as embassy team gets consular access

Migrants deported from the United States wave to the press from inside a hotel in Panama City. Photo credit: AP

Days after Costa Rica announced it was willing to receive illegal migrants deported from the United States, who are nationals of other countries, Panama has informed India about the safe arrival of a group of Indians deported from the US and the Indian mission in the country is working closely with the host government to ensure their wellbeing after obtaining consular access to them.

The Embassy of India in Panama, Costa Rica & Nicaragua took to X on Thursday to share the information but did not provide data on the number of Indians arriving in Panama. "Panamanian authorities have informed us that a group of Indians have reached Panama from the US," the Embassy of India in Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica posted on X.

Out of the 299 undocumented migrants who landed in Panama, only 171 have agreed to return to their countries of origin. They have been sent to a camp in Panama's Darien province, reported news agency PTI.

The group of Indians is part of a larger group of 299 migrants sent to Panama by the US government. These people arrived in the country on three flights last week after President Jose Raul Mulino agreed that Panama would become a "bridge" country for deportees.

Meanwhile, on Monday (February 17), a US military aircraft – a C-17 – arrived in Amritsar, carrying 112 deported Indian nationals, marking the third such deportation flight following the US crackdown on illegal immigrants. With the third round of deportation, a total of 332 Indian nationals have been deported to India until now.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann criticised the central government's decision, following the arrival of another flight on Saturday, to allow these deportation flights to land in Amritsar, alleging it aimed to 'defame Punjab'. Allegations of inhumane treatment, such as shackling and Sikh deportees being without turbans, were reported. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee provided 'langar' and 'dastar (turban)' to those affected.