The Congress on Thursday raised the issue of 50 Indian nationals being deported to Panama from the United States as part of the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants there.
“We would have thought that Indian citizens deported by the Trump Administration would be sent back to India with dignity. Such deportations have taken place in a most inhuman and demeaning manner. Now come reports that more Indian citizens have been deported but to Panama. What is going on?” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X.
The Congress response comes a day after the government said that it is working closely with the authorities in Panama ensure the well-being of Indians who arrived from the US to the Latin American country.
“Panamanian authorities have informed us that a group of Indians have reached Panama from US. They are safe and secure at a Hotel with all essential facilities. Embassy team has obtained consular access. We are working closely with the host Government to ensure their wellbeing,” the Indian embassy in Panama posted on X.
299 illegal immigrants sent to Panama by US
According to a PTI report, 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.
Out of the 299 undocumented migrants who landed in Panama, only 171 have agreed to return to their countries of origin, the report added.
Ninety-eight deportees who refused to voluntarily be repatriated to their countries have been sent to a camp in Panama’s Darien province.
The migrants include people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to Mulino.
According to a Reuters report, some migrants staying at a hotel in Panama City had been seen holding hands and looking out of a window to get the attention of reporters outside.
According to AP, migrants in the hotel rooms held messages to the windows reading “Help” and “We are not save (sic) in our country.”
