Illegal Indians reach Panama from US; Embassy gets access

India is working closely with the government in Panama to ensure the well-being of illegal Indian migrants deported by the US to the Latin American country.

While India has a honourary consulate in Costa Rica, New Delhi will also work with the Costa Rican authorities on Indians being deported to the Latin American country from the US.

The Indian embassy in Panama has announced that the migrants were safe and secure at the hotel where they were detained. "Panamanian authorities have informed us that a group of Indians have reached Panama from the US. They are safe and secure at a hotel with all essential facilities. The Embassy team has obtained consular access. We are working closely with the host government to ensure their wellbeing," the embassy said in a post on X on Thursday.


A report has claimed that nearly 300 individuals from various countries, including Iran, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, who were deported from the US, were confined in a hotel in Panama. Some of those deportees resorted to displaying desperate messages for "help" on their hotel room windows, stating "We are not save (sic) in our country". Panama has denied accusations of detaining migrants against their will after individuals were seen holding signs pleading for help from hotel windows.

Panama's security minister Frank Abrego has said that these illegal migrants from the US were receiving medical attention and food at the hotel as part of a migration agreement between Panama and the US. However, they are not allowed to leave the hotel while international authorities arrange for their return to their countries of origin.

Costa Rica is also expected to receive a similar flight of third-country deportees, including Indians, this week. The Costa Rica presidential office on Monday said that 200 migrants from central Asia and India would arrive on a commercial flight from the US.