[Illegal] Migration at the Panama-Colombia Border

[Keith Woolford]

Not sure what 'right thing' the government of Haiti can do, short of refusing to let it's citizens leave the country. These folks made this trek of their own volition.

[Moderator_02]

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Panama migrant corridor to Shangri-La

Posted on April 7, 2017 in Panama, Your Man in Panama

 

Costa Rica border check

Post Views: 8

WHILE the Panama Canal is seen as the path between the seas, The Isthmus has  also becoming  a key corridor for immigrants from as far away as Somalia, India and Pakistan trying to reach the USA,  a perceived, Shangri-La with or without Donald Trump

Many of them are  aided by human traffickers who lure people who have saved for years to get  to countries like Ecuador, with a liberal visa requirement  to begin the northward trek to find the holy grail.

The bottle neck comes when they reach Panama, and the country become a holding ground for hundreds who are preyed upon by smugglers  in Costa Del Este  and Panama City where some obtain temporary work in warehouses and restaurants.

The long distance travelers have lately been boosted by an inflow from countries relatively close like Cuba and Colombia, and increasingly those seeking to escape the problems in Venezuela.

President Juan Carlos Varela, an espouser of dialogue to solve problems, or push them to the sidelines,  has had face to face meetings with his opposite numbers in Colombia and Costa Rica, and a regional task force has had some success in rounding up smugglers. But like cockroaches they return as soon as bug spraying   stops and they find lots to feed on. Since 2015,  some 25,000 Cubans have passed through Panama.

While  Panama struggles with recurring waves, Costa Rica is tightening its border. Both countries are now concerned about a potential Venezuelan influx..

The latest move to transfer 71 unwanted  Cubans  to the -Costa Rica border on Thursday is seen by our northern neighbors  as  highlighting a pass-the-buck strategy between Central American countries struggling to stem the flow of U.S.-bound migrants.

The Cubans were driven by bus from a holding center in the east – where they had been kept since crossing into Panama from Colombia They had been woken at dawn to board waiting buses.

President Varela told reporters the Cubans had to leave the country or face deportation to Cuba or Colombia.

Shuttlecocks
Costa Rican Communication Minister Mauricio Herrera said  that the Cubans would not be permitted entry and any found illegally crossing into the country would be returned to Panama.

Roeland de Wilde head of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM)in Costa Rica, said half the Cubans had already entered the country..

“We have reliable information that indicates the Cubans have entered Costa Rica with human smugglers,” he said and warned them  “not to put themselves at risk through the dangerous smuggling business,” For many, too little advice too late.

Some 25,000 Cubans passed through the region in 2015. Since then, obstacles have.

m

Nicaragua closed its border to undocumented Cuban migrants in late 2015, forcing Costa Rica, and Panama –to follow suit. In January, the United States scrapped a decades-old policy giving Cubans preferred immigrant status. Hundreds have since been deported.

The same goes for those from faraway places who put their trust in smugglers.

One hopeful from the Punjab who survived in Panama for a year, while he saved to pay for his northward trek, finally  reached the US with three friends.

There he  spent seven months  in detention, before being deported to his home country where he still keeps his dream  alive.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-migrant-corridor-shangri-la

[Moderator_02]

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Cuban migrants Chiriqui bound

Posted on April 12, 2017 in Panama

Moving tp Chiriqui

Post Views: 157

CUBAN MIGRANTS who enter Panama illegally  in future  will be deported or returned to the country from which they came says the government.

The measure was announced at the same time that the Government, and Catholic Church  authorities agreed  to the transfer to Gualaca, Chiriquí province, the almost 300 Cubans who have been staying for months in a temporary shelter of the Social Pastoral Caritas in Ancón.

On Tuesday, April  11  President Juan Carlos Varela met with Cardinal José Luis Lacunza, and Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa of Panama.

Illegal  Cuban migrants are  currently crammed into Caritas Panama facilities. “As a result of the meeting, there was a need to transfer Cuban migrants to a shelter that has better conditions,” said astatement from the Ministry of Security.

“Ecclesiastical and governmental authorities have agreed to move Cuban migrants to a shelter with better conditions, until their immigration status is resolved,”  said a statement from the Episcopal Conference of Panama.

The Ministry of Security will coordinate the transfer of the Cubans to the shelter in Gualaca, Chiriquí.

The transfer will only be applied manner to Cuban migrants who remained in the country after the change of immigration policy in the United States, according to the statement from the Ministry of Security.

It refers to the elimination of the law that established a special immigration regime for Cubans who managed to enter United States territory, known as ‘dry feet, wet feet’.

President Varela has given one month for  the Social Pastoral Caritas to vacate the Anncon  shelter.

Some Cubans have spent  seven months of in the temporary shelter of Ancon. Another group of Cubans, 72 in total, who were in Lajas Blanca, Darién, were  moved to Chiriquí last week.

The relocation of  300 Cubans in Ancon  will begin next week, said Víctor Berrío, executive secretary of Cáritas

Deacon Berrio said that the  alternative shelter will be finished so Cubans have beds, dining  room and other spaces to make them more comfortable.

Meanwhile, he said, a dialogue will be held to analyze the situation He said that there would be no more deportations of  those already in the country.

He said that the release of the more than 30 women and men who are in detention centers of the National Migration Service was also negotiated with government authorities.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/cuban-migrants-chiriqui-bound

[Moderator_02]

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Catholic Charity Defies President’s Order to Shut Down Shelters for Cubans

By: Sabrina Martín - @SabrinaMartinR - Apr 7, 2017, 2:35 pm

Panama’s president has recently taken a tough line on Cuban refugees passing through the country (Cubanos por el Mundo).

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela gave an ultimatum to end the humanitarian accommodation of hundreds of Cuban refugees who remain in that country. Varela gave the Caritas Social Pastoral Ministry a one-month deadline to cease the care for Cubans at that time. However, the executive secretary of the shelter for Cubans stated that he would defend the Cubans who are under his care.

The Panamanian president said that the Caritas shelter in Panama City “has been given 30 days to operate.” He claims that the government cannot continue to “encourage such irregular migration by opening such shelters.”

Varela said that the island’s migrants “have to define their future” because “they do not have a way of applying for [migratory] status in Panama.”

“My recommendation has been for them to return to the country where they came from or to be deported to Cuba,” he said.

On its behalf, the Caritas Social Pastoral Ministry of Panama assured that it will continue to serve Cuban migrants in the capital based on humanitarian principles, despite Varela, has set a one month deadline.

Caritas’s executive secretary, Victor Berrio, said that Varela’s position is “totally opposite” to those he expressed in previous months, when he called for “humane treatment for migrants, to show solidarity”, as he said in the Tuxtla Mesoamerican Summit in Costa Rica.

The priest also said that “as in other countries,” the law allows people to be accommodated on the basis of international agreements for humanitarian reasons, and they could even be given asylum.

He assured that he will defend the Cubans “who for me are the poorest of the poor because they have no rights of any kind, they are humiliated and mistreated.”

Cuban refugees often seek to reach mainland South or Central American, with the intention of following a northward route towards the United States, where they formerly benefited from favorable migration status.

Barack Obama ended American “wet foot, dry foot policy” at the end of his presidential term; a move which was heavily criticized by the US’s large Cuban community.

 

https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2017/04/07/panama-catholic-charity-president-order-shut/

[Keith Woolford]

Approximately 200 Cuban migrants who were moved from the Darien to Paso Canoas have now been relocated to the old training complex at Los Planes de Gualaca.

President Varela to announce impending changes to migration policy later today.

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by Keith Woolford

[Moderator_02]

 

What follows is an automated translation of the above news article. The fidelity of the translation is not guaranteed.

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Cubans leave charitable facilities
Rosalía Simmons 18 Apr 2017 - 00: 00h

MIGRATORY MOVEMENT

The authorities of the Ministry of Public Security have not defined the date of the Cubans' transfer to the Los Planes shelter in Chiriquí.

Topics: Cuban Migration Minseg

A total of 184 Cubans who were housed in the Pastoral Social Caritas Panama, located in the town of Ancon, has evicted these facilities.

The situation comes a few days after the government announced, through the Ministry of Public Security (Minseg), that migrants would be transferred from today to a hostel located in Los Planes, Gualaca district, Chiriqui province.

Deacon Fernando Juárez, in charge of the Social Ministry of Caritas Panama, said that last week there were about 300 people in the shelter, but the uncertainty and fear of being deported back to Cuba has led them to leave the site.

He added that although the archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa, and Cardinal Jose Luis Lacunza have given their word that the Catholic Church will be the guarantor that their rights will not be violated, "Cubans do not trust the authorities and have decided to leave, "some to Costa Rica and others with unknown direction.

On the site there are 106 people who remain waiting for the authorities to explain details of the transfer, time that will be in Los Planes and options to regularize their immigration status.

On the subject, from the press office of the Minseg it was detailed that yesterday there was a coordination meeting between the representatives of the Catholic Church and the Deputy Minister of Security, Jonattan Del Rosario, to define several aspects on the methodology of transfer of the Cubans.

Until the day yesterday had not been defined the date of the displacement of the Cubans, since the new shelter in Chiriquí is not yet enabled.

In this regard, the governor of the province of Chiriquí, Hugo Méndez, reported that the shelter has not been evaluated by the authorities of the Joint Task Force, so the facilities are not ready to be used.

He stated that aspects such as health care, access to water and electricity, as well as coordination of food and quilts, among other basic needs, still need to be defined.

From the Government, Cubans have been offered the option of returning voluntarily to their country, making the approaches to be received in a third country, regularize their legal status in Panama or be deported. However, Cubans do not trust local authorities.

 

http://impresa.prensa.com/panorama/Cubanos-abandonan-instalaciones-Caritas_0_4736526421.html

[Keith Woolford]

Just a guess on my part but it would seem this is a step closer to deportation for these folks.

[Moderator_02]

On 4/18/2017 at 8:52 PM, Keith Woolford said:

Just a guess on my part but it would seem this is a step closer to deportation for these folks.

Seems logical. And sad at the same time. But note that the last paragraph of this latest article indicates the Cubans were given several options.

In carefully reading this latest news article, Chiriqui Province (specifically now in Gualaca) is intimately involved in this migration crisis. Previously it was Paso Canoas, and David, etc. History is going on around us here in this region. (Pardon me for waxing philosophical here, but we are talking about people's lives.)

 

[Hil]

Gualaca had about 200 or more in the same location that came from Paso Canoas last time. I was on the Frontera when there were about 3000 living in tents there. Then the government did a forced take over of the hotels and a big ware house just before the border to get them out of tents and off of the streets in tents in Paso Canoas. My friend that did own a hotel used by border hoppers was taken over. We were on a Sunday drive and stopped in to see the owners while the cubanos where there. She wasn't happy but said the government paid her $5 a night for each Cubano. At least they are not in tents now. I passed the Gualaca site last time they were housed near the reservoir/hydroelectric plant (Fortuna). The site is fenced with guards on the gate even when no one is living there. We went to Bocas not long ago and saw the guards at the gate. At least they have a roof, food and are contained until they can be deported or another country accepts them. My girlfriend and many other Panamanian friends do not like this and are complaining about having to pay for food, housing, electric and medical care. I understand the Red Cross is assisting in this also.This might be the last "wave" of cubanos that missed the Wet Foot/Dry Foot free ride in the USA.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Hil

[Keith Woolford]

The people of Panama should be able to understand the plight of refugees. It's my understanding that during the 1980's a number of Panamanians obtained political refugee status in Canada, including Manolo Ruiz, former Alcalde of Boquete.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Keith Woolford

[JimAndNena]

1 hour ago, Keith Woolford said:

The people of Panama should be able to understand the plight of refugees. It's my understanding that during the 1980's a number of Panamanians obtained political refugee status in Canada, including Manolo Ruiz, former Alcalde of Boquete.

I am unclear if these are political refugees? I am also unclear why Panama should be part of the pipeline to U. S. borders?  Why are Cubans choosing Panama over all the other countries in Central America? 

jim

[Roger B]

7 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

The people of Panama should be able to understand the plight of refugees. It's my understanding that during the 1980's a number of Panamanians obtained political refugee status in Canada, including Manolo Ruiz, former Alcalde of Boquete.

Keith

They were not more than 150 people.

 

[Roger B]

5 hours ago, JimAndNena said:

I am unclear if these are political refugees? I am also unclear why Panama should be part of the pipeline to U. S. borders?  Why are Cubans choosing Panama over all the other countries in Central America? 

jim

Jim

None of them are political refugees per se.  They are looking for the so called "American Dream".  They are not choosing Panama.  They are dumped in other countries in South America and start walking from there with the goal to reach the USA.  They crossed the ever dangerous Darien Jungle.  Problem for Panama is that they entered easily here and Costa Rica and the other countries in Central America closed their borders to them.  Even Costa Rica deported them "back to Panama"!!!  Why back to Panama?  They are not panamanian citizens.  For them it was easy to deport them to Panama than deporting them back to Cuba.

 

[Penny]

23 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

The people of Panama should be able to understand the plight of refugees. It's my understanding that during the 1980's a number of Panamanians obtained political refugee status in Canada, including Manolo Ruiz, former Alcalde of Boquete.

I'm not sure this is a good analogy. First of all these folks aren't wanting to stay in Panama. Apparently they haven't heard that the U.S. borders are tightening up and their chances of getting into the U.S. are getting slimmer and slimmer. Also,most of the Panamanians who went to Canada to escape Noriega planned to return to Panama as soon as Noriega was gone and stability was restored. At least this was the case with ex-mayor Manolo Ruiz.

[Bonnie]

28 minutes ago, Penny said:

I'm not sure this is a good analogy. First of all these folks aren't wanting to stay in Panama. Apparently they haven't heard that the U.S. borders are tightening up and their chances of getting into the U.S. are getting slimmer and slimmer. Also,most of the Panamanians who went to Canada to escape Noriega planned to return to Panama as soon as Noriega was gone and stability was restored. At least this was the case with ex-mayor Manolo Ruiz.

I believe a person can be a political refugee without being precluded from returning in the future to his country of origin.

[Keith Woolford]

11 minutes ago, Penny said:

I'm not sure this is a good analogy.

Perhaps not, Penny. My point is that nations, like people, are often called upon to extend compassion in extraordinary situations.

These Cuban people appear to be the last of the jungle run and are stuck here. From a humanitarian standpoint, I'm glad to see the government offered them shelter and some options. The group who refused the government's offer to go to Gualaca to sort things out and stayed behind in Paso Canoas should be deported, imo.

Tougher enforcement along the porous border with Colombia and continued prosecution of human smugglers is imperative, imo.

[Roger B]

5 hours ago, Penny said:

I'm not sure this is a good analogy. First of all these folks aren't wanting to stay in Panama. Apparently they haven't heard that the U.S. borders are tightening up and their chances of getting into the U.S. are getting slimmer and slimmer. Also,most of the Panamanians who went to Canada to escape Noriega planned to return to Panama as soon as Noriega was gone and stability was restored. At least this was the case with ex-mayor Manolo Ruiz.

Penny

That is correct.  It was only in the meantime the military dictatorship was in Panama.  After the US Invasion I would say most of them returned to Panama.

 

[Moderator_02]

http://www.prensa.com/in_english/meses-permaneceran-cubanos-albergue-Planes_21_4755484408.html

[Keith Woolford]

This story, published Sunday in the Miami Herald and Cuban social media, seems to have escaped the Panamanian press.

Quote

Panama to Cuban migrants: go home and get multiple entry visas

By Mario J. Pentónmpenton@elnuevoherald.com

13-17 minutes

---

The Panamanian government has a proposal for a group of Cubans stranded in that country: return voluntarily to the island, become self-employed entreprenuers known as cuentapropistas and, in exchange, obtain multiple entry visas and even start-up capital — still to be determined — for investment purposes.

The proposal — which would apply only to the 126 migrants who are in a temporary shelter in Gualaca in western Panama — was revealed by Panama’s Deputy Minister of Public Security Jonathan del Rosario, who said that his country has done “everything possible” to help the undocumented migrants.

 

Cuban migrants stranded in Panama talk to journalists at the camp where they are housed in Gualaca in the western province of Chiriquí.
José A. Iglesias jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

 

The official made clear that there is no possibility that the 126 Cubans in the Gualaca camp or the other dozens of Cuban migrants stranded in Panama following the end of the U.S. Cuban immigration policy — known as “wet foot, dry foot” — can stay in Panamanian territory.

The Cuban migrants were en route to the U.S.-Mexico border when former President Barack Obama on Jan. 14 put an end to the policy, which allowed most Cubans who made it to American soil to stay.

“We have been very frank. Their entry into the country in an irregular manner makes it impossible for them to qualify for any type of immigration status in Panama other than refugee status,” del Rosario said, adding that what the Panamanian government is offering is not a bad choice.

“We are doing the budget consultations and, of course, we have not done it behind the backs of the government of Cuba,” he said. “We did not take them to Gualaca to deceive them. The range of options we have is not very wide and the countries we have consulted are not welcoming migrants.”

Del Rosario said that since the migration crisis in the region began last year, Panama’s government has carried out a “Controlled Flow” operation to ensure that undocumented migrants entering Panamanian territory “are properly controlled and enjoy their fundamental rights.”

According to data released by the General Directorate of Migration in that country, more than 39,000 undocumented Cubans have been living in Panama for the last five years.

Last April, the Panamanian government decided to close a temporary shelter in the capital run by Caritas, a Catholic Church organization. Relocation from Panama City to Gualaca in the western province of Chiriquí was accepted by 126 of the more than 300 migrants who were staying at the shelter.

The proposal for the migrants to return home and become cuentapropistas, unveiled at a recent meeting with migrants in Gualaca, remains on the table and is apparently one of the few solutions left to a government team that committed to resolve the Cuban migrant issue within 90 days.

Under the proposal, Panama would grant a multiple-entry visa to the future entrepreneurs so they could purchase products from Panamanian markets needed for their businesses. It is not a crazy proposition, considering that so far this year about 11,900 Cubans have entered the country with stamped visas that allows for multiple entries for tourism and business purposes.

The offer is limited to the 126 migrants in Gualaca and not those who refused to go to the shelter, designated by the government as a temporary refuge, who will be deported if arrested by the immigration authorities.

Cuban migrants stranded in Panama speak to journalists at the camp where they are housed in Gualaca in the western province of Chiriquí.
José A. Iglesias jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

 

“If not Donald Trump, we hope that the Cuban community in Miami will flex its muscle, that someone will help us because none of us left Cuba to stay in Panama or be relocated in Australia,” said Yelisvaris Pargas, one of the Cubans in the Gualaca shelter. “Our goal is to reach the United States.”

Pargas, who is not opposed to returning to the island, said there is hope among some Cuban migrants that the deputy minister’s proposal is implemented.

Others, however, are opposed to the measure.

“All the shops in Cuba belong to the government,” blurted one of the migrants.

“Those visas that are being proposed are of no use to us because everything is illegal in Cuba,” said another of the migrants gathered in a humid hallway at the shelter.

Yosvani López, a young man from Caibarién in the Villa Clara province in central Cuba, said the option of a multiple visa would be the best if there were no other alternative.

“Clearly, we do not want to return,” he said. “But if the choice is between doing it obligatorily or with the option of leaving a door open to return, I will stay with the second one.”

Ivo Torres said Cubans do not migrate because of economic problems, but rather because they are “seeking freedom” and “want to become someone in life.”

“The Cuban government does not value private initiatives because it wants the population to be dependent on them,” said Torres, who also questioned whether Raúl Castro would allow them to become self-employed.

Panama’s vice minister, meanwhile, said most of the Cuban migrants at the shelter would not be able to prove fear of persecution if returned to the island and cited economic woes as the primary reason for having fled, which means they would not be eligible for refugee status.

“A refugee usually seeks refuge in the first country to which he arrives. And since they have been through various countries before getting to Panama, the window for refugee status generally closes,” del Rosario said. “It's not impossible but...that alternative is rarely viable.

“Panama's position on irregular migration has always been to apply strict control measures,” he said. “Before the end of the wet foot, dry foot policy, if there were no outstanding warrants, migrants were simply given an order to leave the country and were allowed to continue their transit across the continent.”

Del Rosario also denied that the Cuban migrants are prohibited from leaving the provisional shelter, essentially serving as a detention center: “Gualaca is not a hotel or a guesthouse. The idea is not to deprive them of their rights, but they must have patience.”

The migrants can only leave the camp accompanied by an escort once a week to collect money transfers at a nearby Western Union and to make purchases.

“We are inviting them to embrace the option of self-employment because it will guarantee them access to Panama and economic support,” del Rosario said.

Following the change of immigration policy in the United States, Panama airlifted some Cuban migrants to the United States but that, too, was brought to a halt. So Panama reached an accord with Cuba, signed in early March, and more than 90 migrants have since been deported.

As a result of intermediation from the Catholic Church, the Panamanian government has agreed to try to resolve the Cuban migrant issue beyond detention. However, they have made it clear that the current situation will not be maintained forever.

“Just as with Cuba there are other countries in the region that threaten to overflow in a migratory crisis and we are only four million inhabitants,” del Rosario said. “We can not welcome everyone.”

Follow Mario J. Pentón on Twitter: @mariojose_cuba

This article is part of the "New Era in Cuban Migration" series, a collaborative project between the Miami Herald, 14ymedio and Radio Ambulante made possible by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Jonathan del Rosario during an interview at his office in Panama City.
José A. Iglesias jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article156541024.html

 

 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article156541024.html#storylink=cpy

Edited July 10, 2017 by Admin_01
clean up malformed HTML

[Keith Woolford]

Quote

Panama makes a final offer to Cuban migrants: $1,650, a plane ticket and permission to return

By Mario J. Pentón  mpenton@elnuevoherald.com

Addis Torres, who is at the shelter with her husband and their 13-year-old son, was devastated by the news. Mario J. Pentón mpenton@elnuevoherald.com

Panama's deputy minister of public security on Friday made a final offer to Cuban migrants staying at a temporary shelter in that nation: $1,650, a plane ticket to Havana and a multiple-entry visa that would give them legal entry to visit the Central American nation.

The government’s offer — an attempt to resolve the dilemma for U.S.-bound Cubans who got stranded in Panama following the end of the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy in January — is limited to those staying at an encampment in Gualaca in the western province of Chiriquí.

“The option I am going to present is a voluntary repatriation process. It is the way to obtain a visa to return to Panama legally and have seed capital to procure a different future for you and your family,” Jonathan del Rosario told more than 100 Cubans gathered in the dining room at the Gualaca shelter. His address was videotaped and shared with el Nuevo Herald.

The financial aid, for those who accept the offer, will be handed over at the airport, before they board the flight to Havana. It is intended to help them launch a private enterprise that would allow them to become self-employed. Those who opt out, may return to the country where they entered Panamanian territory or continue their path as undocumented migrants.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Jonathan del Rosario talks to Cuban migrants at a temporary shelter in Gualaca, Panama.

“You have free will,” said Del Rosario. “Panama and Cuba have diplomatic relations and this option has been done in consultation with representatives of the consulate and the Cuban Embassy in the country.”

The migrants have until July 31 to accept the proposal.

The Cubans at the shelter are among 128 who were transported there in April, after the government shut down another facility in Panama City run by the Catholic Church’s Caritas agency. Nine have since fled the Gualaca shelter.

Those who agree to return to the island will be offered a pre-registration visa application, which will allow them to obtain an interview at the Panamanian Consulate in Havana for a tourist visa. The tourist visa would give them permission to enter legally multiple times to make purchases for their businesses, Del Rosario said.

For migrants who have been out of Cuba for more than two years and, as a result have lost their legal residence status on the island, the Panamanian government would help facilitate their legal return.

Yelisvarys Pargas, one of the Cuban migrants in Gualaca, told el Nuevo Herald that although the proposal seems like a good offer, he distrusts the Cuban authorities.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article160184724.html#storylink=cp

The option I am going to present is a voluntary repatriation process. It is the way to obtain a visa to return to Panama legally and have seed capital to procure a different future for you and your family,” Jonathan del Rosario told more than 100 Cubans gathered in the dining room at the Gualaca shelter. His address was videotaped and shared with el Nuevo Herald.The financial aid, for those who accept the offer, will be handed over at the airport, before they board the flight to Havana. It is intended to help them launch a private enterprise that would allow them to become self-employed. Those who opt out, may return to the country where they entered Panamanian territory or continue their path as undocumented migrants.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article160184724.html#storylink=cpy

Panama offers proposal to group of stranded Cuban migrants The proposal would grant multiple entry visas to the 126 migrants in a temporary shelter in Gualaca in western Panama if they return to Cuba. José A. Iglesias / The Miami Herald Special thanks to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting for its support on this project.

 

“This is the only thing they've given us,” he said.

Addis Torres, who is at the shelter with her husband and their 13-year-old son, was devastated by the news.

“I will continue my journey, I can’t return to Cuba at this point,” she said. “I’ll have to keep going.”

An emotional Nirvia Álvarez, who also has a young son at the shelter, said Del Rosario's proposal left her on the verge of a heart attack.

Nirvia Alvarez, su hijo Christian Estrada Alvarez de 11 años y su esposo Lazaro Estrada Cabello.
Jose A. Iglesias jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

“After six months, desperately waiting and now come out with this s_ _ _ ? I have no house in Cuba, I have nothing, because everything I had I sold,” she said. “Turn back to what? To live under a bridge?

“Some say that they are going to continue to the United States, but I do not have anyone in the United States who I could ask for even $100 to continue,” she said. “What am I going to do in Cuba? My God.”

Several Cubans asked about the possibility of emigrating to a third country but Del Rosario said that was not an option.

“To this day we have no response from any country,” he said.

Also not possible, Del Rosario said, was legalizing the status for undocumented migrants who entered the country illegally.

“There are other countries that have different immigration policies. Maybe some of you want to return legally to Ecuador,” Del Rosario told the migrants. “What we cannot do is send you to a third country if we do not have the guarantee that the third country will take you in.”

Following the deputy minister's presentation, many of the migrants expressed their doubts about the proposal, arguing that Cuba does not follow the rule of law and that they fled the island's government.

Del Rosario told the migrant that so far none of the people who have been returned to the island (more than 90 since the signing of the deportation agreement between Cuba and Panama) have filed a complaint at the Panamanian Embassy for violation of their basic rights.

Cuban migrants at a shelter in Gualaca, Panama listen to Deputy Minister of Public Security Jonathan del Rosario. Courtesy

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article160184724.html

Edited July 10, 2017 by Admin_01
clean up malformed HTML

[MarieElaine]

Another immigration mess!  I wonder what nations they contacted?  I am sure Canada would love to have these refugees.  I am a "tourist" in this country who is between a rock and a hard place and nobody has offered me money.  I could use the $1650 to get my Jubilado.  LOL

[Moderator_02]

Quote

Illegal migration crisis on the rise in Panama

Patrizia Aymerich
Fri, 07/21/2017 - 10:19

Illegal migration in Panama has increased in recent years exponentially, according to the Panama’s National Migration Service. In a special operation, at least 60 foreigners were detained in Calidonia by the National Migration Service (SNM) jointly with the National Police (PN), on June 30. This is not the first time that the authorities must deport large groups of migrants who come to Panama in search of opportunities, but decide to remain without the corresponding documentation.

The group included Dominican, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and Colombian citizens, who were caught working at nightclubs in that area, according to the newspaper La Estrella.

Eleven female foreigners were also detained in early June, during another joint operation with the Police in Santa Ana and Bella Vista, according to a Migration statement. 6 of them were Colombian, 4 Dominican and 1 Venezuelan citizens, who were also working at nightclubs.

In the last two months a large number of irregular foreigners have been caught in areas such as San Felipe, Bella Vista, Santa Ana and San Miguelito, where they were working without the corresponding permits.

In March, 300 undocumented Venezuelan citizens were stranded in Paso Canoas, on the border with Costa Rica, as authorities in both countries prevented them from returning to Panama. This raised another great controversy about the number of undocumented Venezuelans that could be in the country.

For the moment, Migration has turned a blind eye to this case, while it has focused on carrying out special operations to investigate and review people with irregular stay coming from other countries.

In this regard, the authorities have taken some emergency measures. The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel) said they will strengthen measures to issue work permits to foreigners, in order to protect the national workforce.

But not everything is negative. The National Migration Service benefited between June 2010 and 2017 114,542 foreigners mainly from Venezuela and Colombia, with residence permits. The United States, Spain, Italy, the Dominican Republic and China are the other countries that were most benefited.

The numbers

So far, Migration Service has detained approximately 2,102 foreigners in several operations. Of this total 1,619 are men and 483 women, according to a report published by La Estrella.

Of this number 1,019 are Colombian, 192 German, 97 French, 91 from Canada, Israel and the United States with 83 each; 78 from Argentina and 71 from the Netherlands, among other nationalities. Contrary to public opinion, none of them have been Venezuelans.

Many of these people remain in the country with a criminal record, expired permit, checkpoint evasion, incomplete documentation, among other aspects.

Local media reported that, by this date, in 2016, a total of 593 foreigners was detained.

Punishment for the undocumented

According to the immigration institution reports, between January and May this year, 425 foreigners have been deported for migration offenses. Of this number, 297 people were deported and 128 permanently expelled.

The report, which was reviewed by local media, also detailed that 230 migrants were sanctioned for illegally entering the country, 89 were sent to their countries of origin for being considered a threat to collective security and 46 served prison sentence in Panama.

Some 23 foreigners were deported for being undocumented, 17 for being a threat against public security, 12 for inmoral behavior and 8 for working without permits.

 

 

 

http://www.panamatoday.com/panama/illegal-migration-crisis-rise-panama-4740

[Keith Woolford]

The last of the Cuban refugees here were voluntarily repatriated yesterday.

http://laestrella.com.pa/panama/nacional/concluyo-repatriacion-cubanos/24031516

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by Keith Woolford

[Keith Woolford]

There have been reports over the last few days that a number of migrants who want to pass through Panama are being held for medical inspection at Puerto Obaldia on the frontera with Colombia.

The border has been closed. In an interview this morning on Telemetro, Javier Carillo , the Director of Immigration, claims the situation is being handled professionally and in cooperation with Colombia.

There are 674 people,  554 Cubans, and 120 Haitians or Africans, among them pregnant women and children.

Jose Donderis , director of Sinaproc, said the migrants only arrived at Panama because of rough seas.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by Keith Woolford

[BD]

No protests by Panamanians about how this is being handled? Why not open borders and let everyone in, including drug lords, human traffickers, sick and pregnant people, criminals and so forth?