Thousands of additional migrants, of whom the majority are Haitians, have gone through Panama as they head to the United States, according to a recent report.
As Reuters reported:
Up to 4,000 migrants, most of them Haitians, have passed through the treacherous jungles of the Darien Gap in Panama on the Colombian border as they make their way north to the United States, two Panamanian government sources said.
The migrant crisis at the southern border between the United States and Mexico has been a central issue in recent days as thousands of mostly Haitian migrants descended upon the border town of Del Rio, Texas, in an effort to come into the country.
Reuters further reported on the possibility that more migrants are heading to the U.S.:
Between 3,500 to 4,000 migrants are passing through migration reception stations in Darien and Chiriqui, said a source with Panama’s security ministry, who requested anonymity. The group includes Cubans and other nationalities, the source said.
Meanwhile, some 16,000 migrants are stuck in the northern Colombian beach town of Necocli, awaiting their turn on limited boat transport toward the Darien Gap, where smugglers guide groups through one of the most dangerous and impassable regions of Latin America.
On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “said that 150 medical personnel had been sent to the camp in Del Rio to handle health issues for the migrants, including setting up medical facilities in the area. He also said that as many as 30,000 illegal immigrants passed through the camp but that only 15,000 were ever there at once,” per The Daily Wire.
The Biden administration has faced intense criticism over its handling of the crisis at the border and its border policies that some say encouraged illegal immigration and propelled families to make the dangerous trip to the United States with the belief they will be granted asylum and permitted to stay once they arrive.
As The Daily Wire reported, “Mayorkas appeared on ‘Fox News Sunday’ and told host Chris Wallace that about 10,000 to 12,000 illegal migrants have been released and the number ‘could be even higher.’ About 5,000 migrants from the Del Rio border camp are still going through processing.”
“Mayorkas added that the number of migrants released into the U.S. could increase, as could the number who are returned,” The Daily Wire added.
“It could be even higher. The number that are returned could be even higher. What we do is we follow the law as Congress has passed it,” Mayorkas said, according to Fox News.
The current administration and members of the establishment media are also facing criticism for their apparent focus on the actions of Border Patrol agents instead of the crisis. Last week, some in the media characterized the actions of horseback-riding agents as “whipping” migrants rather than using reins to control their horses.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) spoke Sunday about the misrepresentation of the agents.
“First, they wouldn’t have been in that situation had the Biden administration enforced the immigration laws and secured the border in the first place,” Abbott said. “Second, as you know, Chris, the person who took those pictures said that the characterization that the Democrats have made about the Border Patrol using them as whips, whipping people, coming across the border is false. They were simply maneuvering horses.”
“But the last thing I will tell you is what the President said going after the Border Patrol, who were risking their lives and working so hard to try to secure the border, if he takes any action against them whatsoever, I have worked side by side with those Border Patrol agents,” Abbott continued. “I want them to know something, if they are at risk of losing their job, got a president who is abandoning his duty to secure the border, you have a job in the state of Texas. I will hire you to help Texas secure our border.”