Lawsuit Targets Panama Over Detention of Trump Deportees

A legal storm is brewing against Panama, as a group of prominent lawyers filed a lawsuit on Saturday challenging the country’s detention of migrants deported from the United States. This move could potentially derail former President Trump's controversial policy of relocating migrants from across the globe to Central American nations.

The lawsuit, submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, spotlights the plight of 10 Iranian Christian converts and 102 other migrants held at a camp near a Panamanian jungle. These individuals are named as plaintiffs in the case, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.

The case argues that the U.S. violated the Iranian group's right to asylum, citing religious persecution, and accuses Panama of breaching both domestic and international laws, including the American Convention on Human Rights, by detaining the migrants. While this initial lawsuit targets Panama, one of the lawyers hinted at an upcoming complaint against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In response to the suit, Astrid Salazar, spokeswoman for Panamanian President Raúl Mulino, claimed that the migrants “are not detained” by the Panamanian government. She insisted they are under the oversight of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). But here's the twist: the camp housing the migrants is surrounded by fences, guarded by armed Panamanian police, and access is tightly controlled by Panama’s security ministry.

Both IOM and UNHCR have confirmed they are not directly managing the camp. Instead, their role is limited to humanitarian assistance, such as funding food supplies for the detainees. This revelation raises questions about who’s really pulling the strings at this facility. It seems like a game of 'not it,' but with real human lives at stake.