Panama starts returning migrants as part of US deal to deter border crossings

Panama began returning undocumented migrants Tuesday on flights paid for by the US as part of a $6 million agreement aimed at reducing the number of people traveling through the Darién Gap to North America.

The Biden administration’s immigration policy has come under intense scrutiny ahead of November’s presidential election.

The Trump campaign has accused vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — whom Biden charged with addressing migration’s root causes — of failing to adequately secure the border with Mexico.

A recent The Economist/YouGov poll found immigration remains among the top priorities for voters heading into the final stretch of the presidential election campaign, and that a majority of voters polled disapprove of the way Biden has handled immigration.

Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino campaigned on a promise to limit access to the 66-mile expanse of jungle, which has become a key migration route for those heading north as the only land-based pathway connecting South and Central America.

A record 250,000 migrants crossed the Gap on their way to the US in 2023, according to the Panamanian government, and the UN estimates that some 800,000 could attempt the dangerous journey this year.