Migrant crossings in once-overrun Darien Gap route drop to almost zero
Migrant crossings in the dangerous jungle path connecting Colombia to Panama have plummeted to almost zero, according to Panama's migration agency.
Only 10 migrants traversed the Darien Gap in June, according to the data.
3 Clothing and garbage litter a trail in the now-deserted Darien Gap.
AP
3 Migrants cross a river in the Darien Gap during a surge in crossings.
Getty Images
Under President Joe Biden, crossings peaked at 37,166 in February 2024, according to data provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
In 2023, human smugglers helped more than 530,000 migrants navigate the 2,600-mile trek on their way to the US.
And in 2022, Panamanian authorities were seeing an average of 16,400 migrants crossing each week, according to DHS.
The Trump administration attributes the massive drop to its border crackdown and mass deportation campaign.
Under President Trump's watch, illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border have dropped to record lows. In June, border agents caught roughly 6,000 illegal migrants — the lowest level yet — and none of them were released into the US, according to 'border czar' Tom Homan.
More than 83,000 migrants traversed the southern border in June 2024, 99,000 in June 2023 and 192,000 in June 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection.
3 A migrant reception center in the Darien Gap that previously helped hundreds of people every day sits empty.
AP
'In Panama's Darien Gap, migrants are turning BACK before they even reach our border— only 10 migrants crossed in June,' Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Axios.
'The world is hearing our message that America's borders are closed to lawbreakers,' she added.
Panama's right-wing President José Raúl Mulino pledged to shutter the migrant pathway, leading crossings to drop by 40% in 2024.
'Effectively, the border with Darien is closed,' Mulino declared in May.
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