BRIEFS. immigration

Agency reports increase in deportations

The National Immigration Service deported 1,941 foreign nationals in 2008, an increase of 269 deportees from 2007.

Immigration Director Clivis Sinisterra attributed the increase to a more determined effort on the part of the agency to identify people who were trying to enter illegally.

A total of 78.8 percent of the deportations involved people trying to enter the country illegally at Tocumen International Airport terminal. Among the reasons that people were barred from entering the country were the use of altered passports and the lack of a proper visa.

In December, 136,513 people entered the country through the airport, according to immigration records.

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