Heartbreak Hotel

“They arrived at the United States border from around the world, hoping to seek asylum. Instead, they were detained, shackled and flown by the U.S. military to a faraway country, Panama. They were stripped of their passports and most of their cellphones, they said, and then locked in a hotel, barred from seeing lawyers and told they would soon be sent to a makeshift camp near the Panamanian jungle. At the hotel, at least one person tried to commit suicide, according to several migrants. Another broke his leg trying to escape. A third sent a plaintive missive from a hidden cellphone: ‘Only a miracle can save us.'” The NYT (Gift Article) on how asylum seekers from countries like Afghanistan, Iran and China ended up in the Decapolis Hotel. As Trump ‘Exports’ Deportees, Hundreds Are Trapped in Panama Hotel.

+ “Illegal entries fell during most of 2024 as the Biden administration curbed access to the asylum system. Under Trump, they have plunged even lower.
But the drop in illegal crossings has left ICE with fewer easy-to-deport immigrants. That puts more pressure on ICE officers to go out into U.S. cities and communities to make arrests.” WaPo (Gift Article): ICE struggles to boost arrest numbers despite infusion of resources.