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Two months ago, the U.S. deported almost 300 people to Panama. These were asylum-seekers. Many were fleeing civil wars or political or religious persecution in countries like Iran, China, Afghanistan, Somalia and Cameroon. Some of these people are still stuck in Panama, not sure where they can go next. Reporter Manuel Rueda has been hearing their stories.
MANUEL RUEDA, BYLINE: This old school in Panama City has been turned into a shelter, a shelter for asylum-seekers who were deported from the U.S. in February. There are 49 people staying here in the gym, where they sleep on mattresses and take Spanish lessons in the afternoon.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: Endam, a hairstylist from Cameroon, fled from her country last year after soldiers in her village accused her of supporting a separatist group. For security reasons, she asked us not to reveal her full name. She explained why she left her home country.
ENDAM: I've been held in prison for two weeks - the torture, the beatings. So when I was able to escape for my life, I was happy to do so. And the only place I could think of was the United States because of one, I know I will be secure, two, I have family there.
RUEDA: Endam crossed the U.S. border at the end of January and turned herself over to the border patrol to seek asylum. But she says she wasn't given a chance to file an asylum claim, which usually includes an interview with a caseworker.
ENDAM: That's what we were waiting for, but it never happened. It never happened.
RUEDA: Instead, Endam was held at a detention center in San Diego for three weeks. And in February, she was put on one of the deportation flights to Panama.
ENDAM: We had no idea we were coming here. Nobody said anything. When we got out of the plane, then we were like, oh, this is really strange. Then we see the flags. It's not - oh, this is not - this is Panama flag.
RUEDA: Endam and the other asylum-seekers who ended up in Panama were removed from the U.S. under 212(f), a section of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act that was written in 1952.
RACHEL SCHMIDTKE: Which essentially allows the president to determine or to bar people from entering the country.
RUEDA: Rachel Schmidtke is a spokesperson for the human rights group Refugees International. She says that the migrants who were deported to Panama were denied due process. Instead of hearing these migrants out and deciding if they had legitimate claims, Schmidtke said the Trump administration saved itself some time by sending them to Panama.
SCHMIDTKE: The question of, like, the legality of what's happening is a little bit murky here. I think it's a way of scaring people into not wanting to even seek asylum at the U.S. border.
RUEDA: The U.S. government says it followed due process and was never told by these migrants that their lives were in danger. That's a claim the migrants deny. When they arrived in Panama, the migrants were locked up in a big hotel in between the city skyscrapers.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ARTEMIS GHASEMZADEH: (Non-English language spoken).
RUEDA: Artemis Ghasemzadeh, an asylum-seeker from Iran, recorded a video from the hotel, alerting the media to the group's location.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GHASEMZADEH: (Non-English language spoken).
RUEDA: Ghasemzadeh says that officials in Panama tried to pressure her and others in the group to get on repatriation flights.
GHASEMZADEH: I say I never come back to my country because I will die if I come back.
RUEDA: Those who refused to go back home were sent to an isolated camp on the edge of the remote Darien jungle, where they had to sleep in small buildings made from plastic sheets.
GHASEMZADEH: It was like a prison with no privacy, no good food, no good water for going to the toilet or take a shower. They come to you - nowhere alone.
RUEDA: But then, during the first week of March, Panama released them from the camp, following multiple complaints from human rights groups. The migrants were dropped off at a bus terminal in Panama City and told they could stay in the country for up to 90 days. Panama's government did not provide any support to the asylum-seekers, however, garnering more criticism.
MARCO GOMEZ: We have to understand that these people do not speak Spanish. And they are in a country they don't know, and they have no network here.
RUEDA: Father Marco Gomez is the Panama director for Fe y Alegria, a Catholic group that runs education programs. His group decided to host the asylum-seekers at one of its schools in Panama City.
GOMEZ: I would say we are doing the good Samaritan work. You know, it's good to receive the foreigner, to help them as much as we can and also urge government to fix this.
RUEDA: Out of the original group of 300 asylum-seekers, there are about 70 still here. Some are at the school and some in apartments rented by UNICEF. Some of the migrants have said they might apply for asylum in Panama. But others are still hoping that the United Nations can refer them to wealthier countries, like Canada or the United Kingdom, that have better programs for asylum-seekers.
GHASEMZADEH: You know, I'm in a foreign country I never planned for. Here is another language. So I confused. What should I do?
RUEDA: Artemis Ghasemzadeh from Iran says it's a stressful situation because the threat of deportation is still looming.
GHASEMZADEH: Every night I cry because I really scared.
RUEDA: For NPR News, I'm Manuel Rueda in Panama City. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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