Yeah, IANAEsquire, but I was at least under the impression that not deporting people to a country that would persecute them on the basis of nationality (by, say, forcibly returning them to their nation of origin to be persecuted) was, in fact, a legal obligation.
The smart play by Panama would be to give them asylum and let them stay. It would play very well in their stead when Trump starts eye-fucking the Panama Canal again.
Panama can seldom handle Darien. We have tons of Venezuelans with irregular status here. That plus the limited size of this unequal country... Handling migrants not merely running away from dictatorships, but from war, etc. is too much for Panama. And I'm saying this with impotence; not glee.
These people weren't looking for Panama. They were seeking the United States or an idealized version of it; a very non-Trumpian one, for sure. I can't say we can't guarantee them anything they expected America to provide them. And I worry if Trump wants to keep this going on.
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