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The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the precipitous decline in crossings through the Darien Gap.
“In Panama’s Darien Gap, migrants are turning BACK before they even reach our border — only 10 migrants crossed in June,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, adding that the new figures amount to more than a 99.8% drop from migration through the region under the Biden administration. “The world is hearing our message that America’s borders are closed to lawbreakers.”
The figures come as migrant encounters on the southern border of the United States continue to drop dramatically, with officials recording fewer encounters in the month of June than were seen in single days under the Biden administration.
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Colombia witnessed a drastic increase in the number of migrants crossing back into the narrow stretch of jungle toward their home countries in South America earlier this year. The nation recorded just under 10,000 people crossing back south from January to February, a significant increase from the previous year, when just over 4,000 returned south from the Darien Gap.
The Colombian government issued a report indicating that the new trend was the result of the Trump administration’s border security policies.
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Panamanian President Jose Mulino asserted in March that his administration would not allow migrants to cross into the Darien Gap and ordered the closure of sites to assist migrants in their northward trek.