‘They are safe, secure’: India reacts as US deportees flash ‘help us’ message from Panama hotel window

Indians deported from US: Images involving nearly 300 deportees from the United States, including several Indians, have drawn attention as the illegal migrants were seen pleading for help from a Decapolis Hotel in Panama. The Indian Embassy in Panama has taken cognisance of the matter, assuring that the deportees are “safe and secure at a hotel with all essential facilities”.

Panama has agreed to play ‘bridge’ for the illegal migrants being deported from the US as President Donald Trump-led crackdown intensifies.

A desperate scene unfolded when the illegal migrants held up handwritten notes from their hotel windows in Panama pleading for help. Messages such as “Please help us” and “We are not safe in our country” were visible from the building where they were being held under police guard and barred from leaving.

Indian Embassy in Panama on Thursday took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm, “Panamanian authorities have informed us that a group of Indians have reached Panama from US.”

“Embassy team has obtained consular access. We are working closely with the host Government to ensure their wellbeing,” the tweet added.

The embassy also shared an emergency contact number for Indian deportees in Panama- +507 62213065.

Deportees Plead for Help in Panama Hotel

The deportees in the Panama hotel, primarily from Asian countries, have been kept in Panama after the Central American nation agreed to serve as a transit point for individuals whom the US found difficult to deport directly.

According to Public Security Minister Frank Abrego, some of the migrants are from China, India, Iran and Vietnam.

The Panama government had denied reports of ‘detaining’ the deportees.

Panama's national immigration service reported Wednesday that one migrant, a Chinese woman, had escaped from the hotel with the help of people loitering nearby. Authorities have warned that those who aided her could face charges related to human trafficking or migrant smuggling.

Security minister Frank Abrego said on Tuesday that 171 of the 299 migrants have agreed to return to their home countries, but he did not provide a timeline. One Irish citizen has already been repatriated, he noted.

However, around 40 per cent of the deportee group has refused voluntary repatriation.

Panama authorities have indicated that the remaining deportees will be transferred to a temporary migration facility near the Darien Gap, a dense jungle region along the Colombian border, until a resolution is found.

The Darien Gap is a historically perilous route used by migrants travelling north toward the US, and its use as a holding area for deportees has only deepened the controversy surrounding Panama's role in US immigration enforcement.