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Migrants who were held in a Panamanian immigration shelter after being deported from the U.S. embraced upon arriving in Panama City on Saturday, March 8, 2025, after authorities gave them 30 days to leave the country. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
PANAMA CITY (AP) \u2014 They crossed oceans to get to the U.S., fleeing conflict, religious persecution, poverty and government crackdowns in countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Cameroon, China, Pakistan and Iran.<\/p>\n
After flying to Central and South America, they bused through countries where they didn\u2019t speak the language and walked through unfamiliar jungle to get to the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n
Within days, they were detained and put on military aircraft that flew nearly 300 of them<\/a><\/span> to Panama as U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a><\/span> sought to accelerate deportations to more complicated destinations.<\/p>\n Panama was supposed to be a stopover<\/a><\/span>. But for those unwilling to return home \u2014 mostly out of well-founded fear \u2014 Panama sent them to a guarded camp<\/a><\/span> without access to lawyers in the same Dari\u00e9n jungle many had crossed months earlier on their way north.<\/p>\n Over the past week, under legal pressure<\/a><\/span>, the Panamanian government dropped them off at a bus station<\/a><\/span> in the capital with 30 days to figure out where they will go next. <\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like the whole world is crushing down on me. It\u2019s like everything is stopping,\u201d said Isha Len, a 29-year-old from Cameroon. \u201cI risked everything, my life, everything, crossing the Dari\u00e9n Gap, just to be sent back.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are the stories that some of the deportees told The Associated Press: After conflict broke out in her small town, Len crossed Cameroon by car and minibus, then a fisherman friend carried her four hours by boat to Nigeria. <\/p>\n Len, a schoolteacher, flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she said authorities detained her for a month in the airport. From there, she wound north through South America by bus, following other migrants until they reached the Dari\u00e9n Gap.<\/p>\n She walked days through the dangerous jungle that divides Colombia and Panama before boarding buses that carried her through Central America. After being kidnapped for days by a gang in Guatemala, she crossed into southern Mexico, where she took a boat along the Pacific coast to evade authorities. After she landed, she rode eight hours to Mexico City, continuing on by bus and car to Tijuana. <\/p>\n She crossed the U.S. border and presented herself to American authorities. Artemis Ghasemzadeh left her country in January, fleeing after converting from Islam to Christianity \u2013 something that could cost Ghasemzadeh her life in Iran. She flew to Dubai, where she stayed two weeks and then took a flight to South Korea. <\/p>\n From there she flew to Mexico City, staying there for three weeks before going to Tijuana. She crossed the U.S. border on Feb. 9, and was detained for five days, including her birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cFor changing your religion, your punishment is death,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what will happen.\u201d Wang Qiu said he left home after he was imprisoned for three years for speaking out about democracy and human rights issues. <\/p>\n He flew from Beijing to Cuba, then to the small South American country of Suriname. From there, he traveled by land: through Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, before trekking through the Dari\u00e9n Gap. <\/p>\n He moved up through Central America and Mexico before being detained after crossing into the U.S. in San Diego. Qamar Abdi, left for the U.S. on Aug. 17, due to warfare between the government and militants of al-Shabab, which the U.S. recognizes as a terrorist group. <\/p>\n She hopped from buses to shared cars for nearly a month until she reached South Africa. From there, she flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and spent the next six months riding buses north. <\/p>\n When she arrived at the northern tip of Colombia, she traveled six days through the Dari\u00e9n Gap, landing in Panama on New Year\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n She took buses to the southern Mexican border city of Tapachula, where she was temporarily kidnapped and robbed by a gang. To avoid immigration authorities, she traveled hours packed on a boat with other migrants along Mexico\u2019s Pacific coast, then took a bus to Mexico City. She spent two weeks there before driving to Tijuana, where she crossed into the U.S. Ebrahim Ghezelgechi fled Iran with his wife, Sahar; 10-year-old daughter, Aylin; and 11-year-old son, Sam, on Nov. 21. <\/p>\n The family flew to Brazil, then to Panama and finally Nicaragua. From there, they took buses north to Guatemala, then crossed into southern Mexico by boat. They road on top of trains and in buses and vans to get to Tijuana. <\/p>\n After Mexico authorities sent them back to the southern part of the country, they took a plane to the resort area of Los Cabos. There, they were detained, had their passports taken and were sent back south again. <\/p>\n They tried getting north a number of times<\/a><\/span>, punted back by Mexican authorities, before eventually paying a driver to take them to Tijuana. <\/p>\n After crossing into the U.S., they were detained in San Diego for a week.
Isha Len, a migrant of Cameroon, poses for a photo in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the U.S., detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Isha Len, a migrant of Cameroon, poses for a photo in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the U.S., detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n
Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a migrant from Iran, poses for a portrait in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a migrant from Iran, poses for a portrait in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n
Wang Qiu, a migrant from China, poses for a portrait in Panama City, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Wang Qiu, a migrant from China, poses for a portrait in Panama City, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n
Qamar Abdi and Filsan Aliin, migrants from Somalia, pose for a portrait at the hotel where they are staying in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Qamar Abdi and Filsan Aliin, migrants from Somalia, pose for a portrait at the hotel where they are staying in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n
Ebrahim Ghezelgechi, right, a migrant from Iran, poses for a portrait with his wife Sahar Bideman and their children Sam and Aylin in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after they were deported from the U.S., detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Ebrahim Ghezelgechi, right, a migrant from Iran, poses for a portrait with his wife Sahar Bideman and their children Sam and Aylin in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after they were deported from the U.S., detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n
Samin Haider, left, a migrant from Pakistan, and his cousin Saqlain Sayed, pose for a portrait in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Samin Haider, left, a migrant from Pakistan, and his cousin Saqlain Sayed, pose for a portrait in Panama City, Monday, March 10, 2025, after being deported from the United States, detained for weeks in a Panamanian immigration camp, and released on a temporary humanitarian visa allowing a 30\u2011day stay. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/p>\n