Panama and Costa Rica turning into a 'black hole' for migrants and deportees from US, observers warn

Alternate AP headline: Panama and Costa Rica can't turn into 'black hole' for migrants, Human Rights Watch says

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Source: Associated Press

Panama and Costa Rica turning into a ‘black hole’ for migrants and deportees from US, observers warn

By MEGAN JANETSKY, MATÍAS DELACROIX and JOSHUA GOODMAN
Updated 3:03 AM EST, February 28, 2025

MIRAMAR, Panama (AP) — Officials in Costa Rica and Panama are confiscating migrants’ passports and cellphones, denying them access to legal services and moving them between remote outposts as they wrestle with the logistics of a suddenly reversed migration flow.

The restrictions and lack of transparency are drawing criticism from human rights observers and generating increasingly testy responses from officials, who say their actions are aimed at protecting the migrants from human traffickers.

Both countries have received hundreds of deportees from various nations sent by the United States as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to accelerate deportations. At the same time, thousands of migrants shut out of the U.S. have started moving south through Central America – Panama recorded 2,200 so far in February.

“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.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/panama-costa-rica-migrants-trump-53cb0449a29880e5e6aba8d9b7328416