The number of nationals from countries like Afghanistan, China and Iran coming through a key migrant crossing linking Panama and Colombia has increased dramatically in the last four years, according to a new report by a conservative group.
The report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) – which advocates for lower levels of immigration – looked at the increase in migration through the Darien Gap in the last four years since 2021, compared to 2010-2020. The report was first obtained by Fox News Digital.
Citing statistics from Panama, it found that the number of Afghans passing through increased from 98 between 2010-2020, to 8,294 between 2021 and 2024, a 8,363% increase. Meanwhile, Chinese nationals increased from 299 to 39,921. Iranian crossings increased from 14 to 935, and Syrians increased from 28 to 762.
US TO PAY FOR FLIGHTS TO HELP PANAMA REMOVE MIGRANTS WHO MAY BE HEADING NORTH
Haitian migrants rest as they cross the Darien Gap, near Acandi, Colombia, heading to Panama, on Sept. 26, 2021, on their way trying to reach the U.S. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
Overall, numbers increased in the Darien Gap from 115,758 between 2010 and 2020 to 1.18 million in 2021-2024.
There have been widespread concerns about nationals from Afghanistan and China in the US. China is a geopolitical foe of the U.S., and Republicans have expressed concern about the potential for espionage or cyberattacks from CCP members who infiltrate the U.S.
“There have been numerous documented instances of Chinese nationals, at the direction of the CCP, engaging in espionage, stealing military and economic secrets,” lawmakers, led by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said last year.
Meanwhile, concerns about Afghan nationals were highlighted when authorities foiled an Election Day terror plot being planned by an Afghan national who was paroled into the U.S. as part of the evacuation after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The report blames the crisis that has hit Panama on “open border policies” in the U.S. that “encourage migrants from all over the world to undertake a long, costly, and dangerous journey to reach the ‘El Dorado’ that is the United States.”
“Migrants know that if they can somehow get to the porous borders of the U.S., they will likely be released into the country,” it argues.
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