May 15, 2025, Thursday
२०८२ जेष्ठ २
खबरमाला संवाददाता By Hom Lamsal
Now, Nepalese who plan to enter the U.S. through unauthorized routes must be aware that the U.S. has started deporting migrants to third countries. This is considered highly challenging and dangerous for undocumented immigrants. A new immigration challenge has emerged after the U.S. began deporting illegal immigrants from Africa and Asia, including Nepal, to Panama.
According to the U.S. State Department, 119 individuals from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam were deported for the first time to a third country on flights on Wednesday and Thursday. This marks the first instance of noncitizens being deported to a different country. However, the exact number of Nepalis among them remains unclear.
This move is seen as a significant diplomatic achievement for the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. On Wednesday, an American military flight transported Asian migrants in U.S. immigration custody to Panama, marking the first deportation of this kind under Trump’s administration. The group included adults and families with children from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, and Uzbekistan.
Another military flight on Thursday also transported more Asian migrants and some African deportees, including migrants from Cameroon. Panama’s foreign ministry confirmed the arrival of deportation flights under an agreement with the Trump administration. Under this agreement, the U.S. is allowed to deport non-Panamanians to Panama, following a policy of returning migrants to the countries they used as transit points. CBS News reported that the U.S. government is covering all deportation costs under this agreement.
Deporting migrants to Panama, which has become a major migration corridor in recent years, is seen as a key diplomatic success for the Trump administration’s efforts to control illegal immigration. The U.S. has long struggled to deport migrants from Africa and Asia due to long distances and resistance from their home countries in accepting deportation flights. The New York Times was the first to report on the deportation of Asian migrants on Wednesday.
It is worth noting that deporting migrants to distant countries can cost over $10,000 per person. This is one of the reasons the U.S. has started deporting migrants to closer countries, following a policy of returning them through the same route they entered.
These deportation flights highlight how the Trump administration is pressuring countries to accept deported migrants who are not their citizens. The U.S. had previously signed agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala to accept noncitizen deportees. El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, has even agreed to accept suspected members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang expelled from the U.S.
The Trump administration is pushing for more deportation agreements, with reports that it considered sending third-country nationals to Guyana.
Panama’s willingness to accept deportees comes as Trump has expressed interest in reclaiming control of the strategically vital Panama Canal, which the U.S. handed over to Panama in 1999. However, Panama’s leaders have outright rejected this idea, dismissing Trump’s claims about China’s influence over canal operations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first international visit to Panama after taking office. Last week, the U.S. State Department claimed it had reached a deal allowing U.S. military ships to transit the canal for free, but Panama’s president denied any such agreement, calling the State Department’s claim false.
Like the U.S., Panama has faced major immigration challenges in recent years. The Darién Gap, a once-impenetrable jungle between Panama and Colombia, has become a key route for migrants traveling through Central America and Mexico to the U.S.
In 2023, over 500,000 migrants—mostly Venezuelans—crossed the Darién jungle into Panama, a record number. That figure dropped to over 300,000 in 2024, still the second-highest annual total recorded by Panamanian authorities.
Deportation to a third country poses several difficulties for migrants. They will be forced to live as refugees in an unfamiliar country, and those who spent large sums on smugglers to reach the U.S. will struggle to return home. Previously, Nepalis deported from the U.S. were sent back to Nepal, making it easier to track the number of deportees. However, as Nepalis are now being deported to third countries with no diplomatic ties to Nepal, this adds another layer of complexity to the issue.
