Panama Foreign Minister warns 60K migrants headed to U.S.

October 2, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

Panama’s Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes speaks during a meeting of public prosecutors and attorneys general in Playa Bonita, near Panama City, on August 30, 2021. (Photo by ROGELIO FIGUEROA/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:48 AM PT – Saturday, October 2, 2021

A new wave of migrants, mostly Haitians, are headed to the U.S. from Panama. In a recent interview, Panama’s Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes warned that as many as 60,000 migrants are headed north to the U.S.-Mexico border.

After meeting with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this week, the foreign minister said she’s spoken with every authority possible, saying “please, let’s pay attention to this.” She added the Biden administration repeatedly ignored her warnings for months. She pointed to her last plea for help, when she informed the administration of the last wave of migrants that ended up in Texas earlier this month.

“We’ve engaged with every single authority that we can think of, that we can come across, to say, ‘please, let’s pay attention to this,” said Mouynes who called upon the administration to work with other countries in order to come up with a plan to combat the issue.

“We all have a role to play in this issue, and the regional approach is the correct approach. It is impossible for Panama to solve it on its own,” she said.

Reports said more than 85,000 migrants have passed through Panama on their way to the U.S. since January.

Haitian migrants, part of a group of over 10,000 people staying in an encampment on the U.S. side of the border, cross the Rio Grande river to get food and water in Mexico, after another crossing point was closed near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas on September 19, 2021. (Photo by PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has stressed the crisis at the border is due to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ refusal to enforce the law. He said they’ve “essentially said anyone who wants to come to America, they’re gonna resettle them, they’re gonna give them benefits, they’re gonna let ’em stay, and it’s resulting in a public health crisis and a humanitarian crisis.”