Turkish mother and children seeking asylum expelled to Panama, pressured to return to Turkey
Feb 2025
Country of origin: Turkey

F.A. and her two minor children fled Turkey after her husband was targeted for membership in the Gülen movement. After entering the U.S. in early February 2025 and repeatedly telling officials they came to seek asylum, they were expelled after nine days in detention on a military plane to Panama. Panamanian officials told them they could go to a detention camp in the jungle or return to Turkey. Fearing they would not survive, F.A. accepted return to Turkey, where the family now lives in hiding.
Sources
Related incidents
- Man who told agents 'I'm a citizen' deported from Texas days laterOct 8, 2026 · TX
- Men detained in Dover, NJ raid held at Roxbury warehouse; one deported to HondurasOct 8, 2026 · Dover, NJ
- US deported 500+ people to third-country African nations despite torture, persecution risksOct 8, 2026
- Medford father deported to Mexico, leaving wife and five children behindOct 7, 2026 · Medford, OR
- Phoenix man unlawfully deported to Equatorial Guinea, beaten and missing after speaking to pressOct 7, 2026 · Tucson, AZ
- Cuban man detained in Florida, deported to Central African Republic, held in BanguiOct 6, 2026 · West Palm Beach, FL