A group of undocumented immigrants crossing the border between the United States and Mexico were sent to Panama, where a Chinese woman made an escape from her confinement in a hotel on Wednesday (19th). She was later found by the police with someone waiting for her outside.
According to a notice issued by the Panama Immigration Department on the social media platform X, the Chinese citizen, named Zheng Lijuan, evaded the security and escaped from the “Decapolis Hotel” in Panama City. The luxurious hotel was housing 299 immigrants who were being expelled from the United States. The hotel boasts top-notch facilities including ocean-view rooms, two high-end restaurants, swimming pools, and a spa center.
On Wednesday afternoon, Frank Abrego, the Minister of Security in Panama, posted on social media platform X that the authorities found the woman abandoned near a transit station in the north close to the border with Costa Rica, where immigrants pass through en route to the United States.
According to the Associated Press, the immigrants housed in the hotel mainly come from Asian countries, including Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, as well as Turkey and Uzbekistan. Among them, 171 immigrants have agreed to return to their home countries, while Panamanian authorities have not provided a specific timeline. Abrego stated on Tuesday that forty percent (128 individuals) of those being expelled are unwilling to return to their home countries.
A lawyer representing Muslim families mentioned to Reuters that if her clients were repatriated, they could face beheading; they may seek asylum in Panama or other countries willing to receive them.
Panama has reached an agreement with the United States to serve as a transit point for illegal immigrants who are difficult to repatriate to their home countries. The aforementioned 128 immigrants will be taken to an immigration facility near the Darien Gap to await placement.
As reported by The Guardian, Panama currently lacks flight agreements to repatriate immigrants to their home countries.
In recent years, tens of thousands of Chinese “going-out lines” have followed the immigrant waves in South and Central America to enter the United States. Some apply for asylum and stay, while many are deported. According to data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in November last year, 37,908 Chinese citizens were eligible for deportation but were not detained. In the 2024 fiscal year, 517 Chinese citizens were deported.
Some Chinese going-out lines living in Los Angeles told our reporter that in the years following the pandemic, the Chinese economy has plummeted, resulting in widespread unemployment in major cities like Shanghai, countless business closures, and people facing immense pressure to survive. The Chinese Communist Party’s censorship, human rights violations, and suppression of beliefs have driven many people to the breaking point, prompting them to flee China.