What Happened to The Migrants The U.S. Dumped In Panama?

"Jharana had freshly showered and wore an orange and white T-shirt with a tie-dye design. She and a small group - two other Nepali women, one of whom was her closest friend, a Nepali boy she had taken under her wing, and a young woman from Afghanistan - were ready to leave what had been their home since March. It was already dark by the time their car backed into the dirt driveway of the migrant-reception center in the outer rim of Panama City."

"Jharana, which is a nickname she asked to use to protect her privacy, and the other Nepalis at the center had met in January, when they crossed into the U.S. and turned themselves in to Border Patrol. Jharana had been traveling for two years by that point; in total, she spent 22 days in detention. The whole time, she was sustained by the hope that she would soon be reunited with her husband, who had arrived in the U.S. in 2022 to request asylum;"

"Instead, Jharana and her group of Nepalis were ushered onto a flight one early morning in February, in a group of about 300 migrants of various nationalities. The pilot and staff told them that it would be a six-hour journey to their destination but did not entertain any questions. Jharana believed they were being transferred to another detention facility in the U.S. It was only when the pilot announced their arrival in Panama that she understood what had happened."

Jharana left a migrant-reception center in Panama after three months there. She, two other Nepali women, a Nepali boy she mentored, and a young Afghan woman prepared to depart their temporary home. The Nepalis had turned themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol after crossing into the United States in January. Jharana had traveled for two years and spent 22 days in detention, sustained by hope of reuniting with her husband, who arrived in the U.S. in 2022 to request asylum. In February, she and about 300 migrants were boarded onto a flight with limited explanation and then landed in Panama, returning them toward the deadly Darién Gap they had already crossed.

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