Panama’s Darien Gap has been a popular route for illegal immigrants entering the United States, and it’s also a path chosen by many Chinese migrants. However, recent data shows a steep decline in the number of Chinese migrants crossing the Darien Gap as some Latin American countries crack down on illegal immigration.
This jungle-covered gap connects Colombia and Panama and has been one of the main routes for immigrants to reach the U.S. border. In recent years, Chinese migrants have become the fourth largest nationality group using this transit point.
Following crackdowns on illegal immigration in countries like Ecuador and Panama, Panama’s immigration authorities reported that only 124 Chinese migrants passed through the Darien Gap in September, down to just one-sixth of the number in June.
The Darien Gap is a dangerous jungle area on the border between Colombia and Panama, serving as the only land bridge from South America to the U.S. The region lacks paved roads and is plagued by rampant violent crimes including murder, kidnapping, and rape.
According to Panama’s immigration authorities, a total of 263,296 immigrants crossed this gap illegally in the first nine months of 2024, a 36% decrease compared to the previous year. Among them, approximately 178,000 individuals (68%) were from Venezuela, 16,000 from Colombia, 15,000 from Ecuador, and about 12,000 from China.
In 2023, over 25,000 Chinese migrants crossed the Darien Gap, with many middle-class Chinese choosing this route due to economic slowdowns at home or dissatisfaction with domestic policies.
Some migrants interviewed by the English-language Epoch Times said they are embarking on their journey to the U.S. due to concerns over the impending end of President Joe Biden’s term. One Chinese migrant said: “He’s leaving, so I came.” Two other Chinese migrants, who refused to disclose their identities, criticized the Chinese Communist Party and its leader on camera, expressing their desire to go to the U.S. for its freedoms.
The U.S. government has been seeking to establish processing centers in Latin America and encouraging neighboring countries to strengthen border enforcement measures to reduce the number of illegal immigrants reaching the southern U.S. border.
Ecuador had previously offered visa-free entry to Chinese tourists for up to 90 days. After arriving in the Ecuadorian capital Quito, Chinese migrants would travel by bus to Colombia, cross the Darien Gap, and then proceed through Costa Rica and Mexico to the southern U.S. border.
In July, the Ecuadorian government suspended visa exemptions for Chinese nationals due to nearly half of Chinese tourists entering Ecuador not departing by “regular means” or within the allowed 90 days.
According to an assessment by the Niskanen Center in Washington in May, in 2023, 48,381 Chinese tourists entered Ecuador, yet only 24,240 legally departed, marking the highest discrepancy among all nationalities.
In agreement with the U.S., Panama has begun deporting Colombian and Ecuadorian immigrants with criminal records, with the U.S. covering the cost of repatriation flights. The country has also initiated repatriation flights for Chinese migrants.
Brazil has also tightened transit passenger regulations due to a surge in Asian and other foreign travelers exploiting visa-free transit policies to enter the country and apply for asylum at airports. Brazilian authorities noted that many of these travelers ultimately intend to reach the U.S., abusing Brazil’s asylum system.
Amid stalemates in immigration legislation, the Biden administration announced restrictions in June, cutting off asylum pathways when the number of illegal immigrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border reaches a certain level. Within a month of implementing this new rule, daily border arrests in the U.S. significantly decreased by over 40%.
Regarding border issues, former President Trump promised that if re-elected, he would push for mass deportations of illegal immigrants, complete his unfinished border wall project, deploy more law enforcement personnel to the southern border, and impose stricter punishments on illegal immigrants.
In her first interview as a presidential candidate, Heather Swanson stated that her efforts would help reduce border crossings and reiterated support for a bipartisan border bill that the Senate failed to pass.
In February of this year, a Gallup poll found that 55% of American adults view “large numbers of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally” as a critical threat to the country’s important interests, marking a historical high and an 8% increase from the previous year. This figure surpasses the previous record set in 2004 at 50%. 31% of respondents considered large-scale illegal immigration an important threat, while only 14% believed it was not significant.