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jmetaB02c8a027c2bdf8a3dc181469a2b372f023e97f816077c099fbd7ba159568358071@9faad615f6ea5fdee9d594dc657f354f1c749cbdf67d9b9233f02f2ca24bc02arss.itemmetarss.netM( <item><link>https://www.semafor.com/article/08/20/2024/panama-returning-undocumented-migrants-us-deal</link><guid>https://www.semafor.com/article/08/20/2024/panama-returning-undocumented-migrants-us-deal</guid><category>politics</category><description>The program comes as US voters weigh the Biden administration and Kamala Harris' record on immigration ahead of the presidential election in November.</description><title>Panama starts returning migrants as part of US deal to deter border crossings</title><dc:creator>Mizy Clifton</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:49:11 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://img.semafor.com/a4e8364cffd87a3f502f33129ace233b871ac54f-5500x3667.jpg" length="5320897" type="image/jpeg"/><media:thumbnail url="https://img.semafor.com/a4e8364cffd87a3f502f33129ace233b871ac54f-5500x3667.jpg"/><media:credit>Aris Martinez/Reuters</media:credit><content:encoded> <![CDATA[ <section><h3>The News</h3><p>Panama began <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjlqk0wv1no">returning undocumented migrants</a> Tuesday on flights paid for by the US as part of a $6 million agreement aimed at reducing the number of people traveling through the Darién Gap to North America. </p><p>The Biden administration’s immigration policy has come under intense scrutiny ahead of November’s presidential election. </p><p>The Trump campaign has accused vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — whom Biden charged with addressing migration’s root causes — of failing to adequately secure the border with Mexico. </p><p>A recent The Economist/YouGov poll found immigration remains among the top priorities for voters heading into the final stretch of the presidential election campaign, and that a majority of voters polled <a href="https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econtoplines_W3lebBm.pdf">disapprove of the way Biden</a> has handled immigration. </p><h3>Know More</h3><p>Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino campaigned on a promise to limit access to the 66-mile expanse of jungle, which has become a key migration route for those heading north as the only land-based pathway connecting South and Central America. </p><p>A <a href="https://www.datosabiertos.gob.pa/dataset/migracion-irregulares-en-transito-por-darien-por-pais-2023">record 250,000 migrants</a> crossed the Gap on their way to the US in 2023, according to the Panamanian government, and the UN estimates that some <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149806">800,000</a> could attempt the dangerous journey this year.</p></section> ]]> </content:encoded></item>