Migrants from around the world, hoping to seek asylum in the United States, have instead found themselves in a grim situation. Upon arrival at the U.S. border, many have been intercepted by the U.S. Army, chained, and transferred to Panama via military aircraft. The migrants, who arrived from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, and China, have reported having their passports and most of their cell phones confiscated and being locked in a hotel in Panama City. They were also forbidden from seeing their lawyers and informed that they would soon be sent to an improvised camp near the Panamanian jungle.

This new policy, implemented under the Trump administration, aims to address the challenge of deporting migrants from countries that either do not accept deportees or pose significant logistical hurdles. The solution? Exporting them to countries willing to host them, such as Panama. On Wednesday, U.S. officials began transferring hundreds of migrants to Panama, a move that has raised serious concerns about human rights and the legal treatment of asylum seekers.

Once in Panama, the fate of these migrants lies in the hands of Panamanian officials. Since they are no longer on American soil, the U.S. is not legally obligated to ensure they receive humane treatment or have the opportunity to request asylum. This shift in policy has sparked controversy and raised questions about the ethical implications of such actions.

Costa Rica has also agreed to receive a flight from the U.S. with 200 deportees from Asia and India. Both Panama and Costa Rica have stated that the operation will be supervised by United Nations organizations and funded by the U.S. However, the effectiveness and legality of these operations remain uncertain. Muzaffar Chishti, principal researcher at the Migration Policy Institute, described the Panama Plan as part of “a totally new era of application of the law,” where Washington is coercing other countries to be part of its “deportation machinery.”

The Vice Chancellor of Panama, Carlos Ruiz-Hernández, has assured that Panama and the U.S. are adhering to international protocols in their dealings with migrants. However, Panamanian lawyers have claimed that it is illegal to detain people without a court order for more than 24 hours. Despite this, about 350 migrants deported by the U.S. have been locked in a hotel called Decapolis in Panama City for almost a week, while authorities prepare a camp near the jungle.

Armed guards prevent deportees from leaving the hotel, and several of them are children. The conditions in the hotel are dire, with at least one person attempting suicide and another breaking a leg while trying to escape. A woman sent a desperate message from a hidden cell phone: “Only a miracle can save us.”

The National Security Department has stated that the migrants deported to Panama were illegally in the U.S. and did not claim to be afraid of returning to their countries of origin. However, interviews with migrants inside the hotel reveal a different story. Many claim to be asylum applicants against their will. In a visible window from a sidewalk located under the hotel, a woman scratched a glass without insurance in an attempt to escape. When she realized that there were journalists down, she raised a role in which she read “Afghan.”

She made movements with her hands that simulated a plane and then her head falling. The message seemed clear: a flight home meant death. In another window, Artemis Ghasemzadeh, 27, a migrant from Iran, wrote “help” with lipsticks in the glass. The Times was able to contact Ghasemzadeh through her cell phone and conducted interviews with her, with other Iranian deportees, and with a migrant from China. Many of the deportees just wanted their names or surnames to be used for fear of retaliation if they returned to their countries.

Ghashzadeh, who identified herself as an English teacher, said she had converted to Christianity in Iran, a crime punishable by death under Iranian Islamic law. She left Iran in December, hoping to build a new life in the U.S. “I am not a criminal, I have studies, I will show you my qualifications, my conversion papers to Christianity,” she said.

Ghashzadeh’s journey to the U.S. was fraught with danger. She took a series of flights to Mexico and then crossed the southern border of the U.S., paying a smuggler about $3,000 to help her jump the border wall. She was soon stopped by border agents and spent five days in federal custody before being tied hand and foot and transferred to Panama.

On the military plane, Ghasemzadeh witnessed a Uzbeka woman with two young children pass out. The children cried, and an American army member approached Ghasemzadeh to ask for help translating. “I said it was because we had no idea of where they took us, could they tell us, please?” Ghasemzadeh said. “He hugged me gently,” she continued, “he whispered in my ear that we were going to Panama and asked me not to tell anyone.”

On Sunday morning, at the Hotel in Ciudad de Panama, after another deported person tried to commit suicide, Ghasemzadeh said that all the crystals and sharp objects of the rooms had been confiscated. She and nine other Iranian Christians, including three children aged 8, 10, and 11, had spent the days at the hotel frantically trying to get help from abroad. At night, they read in a copy of the Bible she had on the phone.

Vice Chancellor Ruiz-Hernández said that migrants were being held at the hotel as a provisional measure because Trump’s government asked Panama to accept migrants quickly and an installation was still preparing for them. He added that Panama was a leader and strategic partner in migration management, and that his government and the U.S. had an agreement that is respectful of human rights.

Panama has said that two United Nations organizations, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Agency for Refugees, are responsible for supervising migrants while they are in Panama. However, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration stated that the group was “facilitating returns where it was safe” and was not involved “in the detention or restriction of movement of individuals.”

According to a UN official who asked to maintain his anonymity to be able to talk about a delicate issue, the UN Agency for Refugees was providing Panama with humanitarian and technical support, but Panama was strictly managing the deportees and did not know with certainty the process they were following.

The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, announced that those deported from the hotel will soon be sent to a camp located on the edge of the jungle known as the Darién Gap. Built just a few years ago to house migrants heading north to the U.S., the camp will now take care of a reverse migratory wave. It is not clear how long people will remain.

In the past, the camp, called San Vicente, was made up of a few huts in a muddy extension, and officials often locked migrants inside. Dengue is a common danger in the region. At the Decapolis hotel, a man in his 50s with the last name Wang wrote “China” in his window. In a phone call, he said he had come to the U.S. alone, “for freedom.” He had left his wife and children, he said. Just a few days before he had crossed the U.S., where he was arrested, handcuffed, and embarked on a plane to Panama.

Wang said, “I thought that the United States is a free country that respects human rights. I had no idea what it was like a dictatorship.” As for his country of origin, he said that “I would prefer to throw myself from a plane rather than return to China.”

On the trip on a military plane from California to Panama, Mona, an Iranian Christian convers 32, said that her 8-year-old son cried, terrified of seeing her chained parents. To calm him down, she told him that everything was a game, how to overcome the challenges of a video game, and that when the plane landed they would be free. She asked if he would prepare his favorite Persian dish after the plane landed. Her husband, Mohammad, 33, said that throughout the flight she reminded them of a Christian teaching that often recited.

“Jesus said: ‘If you don’t take my eyes off my eyes, I will not take my off you.’ So I constantly told my wife: ‘Do not take his eyes off him,'” Mohammad said.

This situation highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive review of U.S. deportation policies and the treatment of asylum seekers. The ethical and legal implications of these actions must be carefully considered to ensure that human rights are upheld and that the U.S. continues to be a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge.

Recent developments have shown a growing concern among international human rights organizations and legal experts. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called for immediate action to ensure the safety and well-being of these migrants. The UNHCR has stated that the U.S. has an obligation to protect asylum seekers and to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect.

Critics argue that the U.S. should focus on providing safe and legal pathways for asylum seekers rather than deporting them to countries where their safety cannot be guaranteed. They point to the potential for further human rights abuses and the long-term impact on the U.S.’s international reputation.

In response to these concerns, some U.S. lawmakers have called for hearings and investigations into the treatment of asylum seekers and the effectiveness of current deportation policies. They argue that the U.S. must lead by example and ensure that its actions align with its stated values of freedom, justice, and human rights.

As the situation in Panama continues to unfold, it is clear that the U.S. must address these issues with urgency and compassion. The fate of these migrants hangs in the balance, and the actions taken now will have lasting implications for the U.S. and the global community.