immigration

Some visitors intending to stay

Gabriel Rodríguez/LA PRENSA

guests:Thousands of Nicaraguans are living in Panama illegally.1041645

Panama has seen an influx of visitors to the country from Nicaragua who seem intent on making the country their home.

In the first four months of 2008, 9,734 Nicaraguans legally entered the country. Of those, more than 3,000 have not left, according to the Dirección de Migración.

In 2007, there were 22,379 visitors from that country and, to date, 2,800 are still here, according to that agency's records.

The majority arrived in Panama by bus via Paso Canoa. Just under 3,000 of the Nicaraguans who visited Panama in the last 16 months arrived via Tocumen airport.

According to Migración, Nicaraguans are the second-most deported nationality, after Colombians.

One Nicaraguan interviewed by La Prensa said that he arrived last December with his two sons and less than $10 in his pocket. He was seeking work, something he couldn't find in his home country. He spent most of his money on the bus ticket and for the $500 bond that Panamanian authorities require as a sign of financial independence.

The man, who asked that his name not be used, makes about $200 a month as a laborer. Out of that, he spends $70 for rent for a room in San Miguelito, and about $3 a day on bus fare and food for his family.

He said he left Nicaragua because of President Daniel Ortega’s return to power. “I heard there were a lot of jobs in Panama,” he said. The expansion of the Panama Canal has prompted many Nicaraguans to come here, the man said. That sentiment was echoed by Migración officials, who said that there has definitely been an increase in illegal workers coming from Nicaragua.

That could change when the country's new immigration laws go into effect in August. These laws will give expanded powers to Migración officials, making it easier for them to conduct sweeps and deport people here illegally.

One unintended consequence of that law is that it is expected to increase the number of people who enter the country illegally.

Donald Pernudiz, the Nicaraguan consul to Panama, said that the number of people from his country working here illegally is inflated, and that great economic strides have been made since Ortega took office.

“There are more jobs, more security and life is better,” the consul said.