CHC, CBC Chairs Urge Biden Administration to Halt Proposed Funding for Migrant Removals in Panama

Washington D.C. – Today, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Nanette Barragán and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Steven Horsford issued the following statement urging the Biden administration to halt a proposal to divert critical foreign aid funding to support migrant deportation programs in Panama:

“We are deeply concerned by the announcement that the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security intend to repurpose critical funds to aid the Government of Panama with migrant deportation. Many migrants in Panama — particularly those from Venezuela and Haiti — are escaping political persecution, desolate poverty, and treacherous violence. 

We appreciate the Biden administration’s decision to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela and Haiti, which recognized that current conditions in both countries are too dangerous to permit safe return. These same considerations should be extended to our foreign policy.

For years, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus have called for greater protections for migrants. If this administration chooses to support Panama’s migrant deportation programs, it would send a dangerous message about the obligations of receiving countries to protect migrants and asylum-seekers within their borders. The Trump administration attempted similar efforts and was stopped by Congress. The Biden administration should not resurrect the mistakes of the past.

We fully support efforts to assist our partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen their immigration systems, including their capabilities to fairly adjudicate asylum claims, but believe this assistance must be in line with our values and, therefore, not in support of mass deportations. The Biden administration should reconsider this policy as it works with our partners in this Hemisphere to address the shared challenge of migration."

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