Key Takeaways
• Darién Gap crossings dropped 99% by 2025 under Trump’s strict immigration policies.
• Executive Order 14159 eliminated asylum app CBP One and increased deportations.
• Panama implemented biometric checkpoints and deportation programs with U.S. funding.
The Darién Gap, a treacherous jungle straddling Colombia and Panama, has long stood as one of the most dangerous migration routes. For decades, people from across Latin America and even farther have risked their lives to traverse its untamed terrain in search of safety, opportunity, and a chance to reach the United States. However, under the policies of Donald Trump’s administration, crossings through the Darién Gap experienced a staggering decline, dropping nearly 99% by early 2025. This significant reduction underscores the administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, one that has sparked a mix of praise, outrage, and critical analysis.
A Dangerous Route and a Breathing Space for Migrants
The Darién Gap is not your typical border crossing. It’s an unforgiving landscape of dense rainforest, venomous wildlife, rivers that flood unpredictably, and lawless zones often controlled by smugglers or armed groups. Despite such dangers, a growing number of migrants, including families with young children, have turned to this perilous path as they flee violence, poverty, and persecution in their home countries. Thousands of people had streamed through the region each month—a reflection of the desperation felt by many migrants—until Donald Trump’s latest term arrived with some of the harshest immigration policies in modern U.S. history.
A reminder of just how dramatically things have changed can be seen in the numbers. In February 2024, 37,166 migrants passed through the Darién Gap. By February 2025, that number had plummeted to just 408. This marks a near-total collapse of crossings. According to reports from government officials in Panama, the silence in the region is striking. Camps once filled with migrants, often located at strategic points along the route like Lajas Blancas, now sit abandoned.
Trump’s Policies: Swift and Aggressive
Donald Trump, known for his hardline stance on immigration during his first term, has built on those policies in his second stint as President of the United States. By January 2025, his administration had launched several initiatives centered on deterring migrants at all costs. A pivotal move came just hours after his inauguration, when he signed Executive Order 14159 titled “Protecting The American People Against Invasion.” This order introduced sweeping changes that reshaped America’s approach to immigration enforcement.
Key components of this directive included stricter penalties for unauthorized crossings, expedited deportations, and the elimination of what some critics called “loopholes,” such as the prior ability for asylum seekers to book appointments at U.S. borders using the CBP One app. The elimination of the app meant asylum-seekers would face greater difficulties presenting their case legally, leaving many with no other options but to attempt formal crossings and risk detention or deportation upon entry.
The Trump administration also ended “catch-and-release,” a practice allowing some unauthorized migrants to remain in the country temporarily while awaiting immigration hearings. Under the revamped system, detention became the norm, and those who crossed without authorization faced expedited expulsion if they could not meet immediate criteria for asylum. Meanwhile, a focused operation called “Operation Safeguard” targeted migrants with criminal records, resulting in an increase in deportations. In Trump’s view, such measures were necessary to enhance national security and reduce pressure on American public resources.
Panama’s Role in Regional Crackdown
Importantly, Trump’s actions didn’t stop at the U.S. border. His administration leaned heavily on other countries—most notably Panama—to ensure strict immigration control throughout the region. By mid-2024, President José Raúl Mulino of Panama had joined forces with U.S. policymakers to further clamp down on crossings through the Darién jungle. Increased funding from the U.S. made it possible for Panama to roll out advanced measures like biometric checkpoints, deploy additional troops, and put up physical barriers, including razor wire and other deterrents, along critical points of the migration route.
The collaboration bore results as Panama’s policies sharply reduced crossings even before the steep collapse witnessed in 2025. Specifically, between early 2024 and 2025, crossings through the jungle fell by 42%. While the U.S. may have initiated these aggressive steps, Panama implemented them on the ground. Deportation flights became another powerful tool, as hundreds of migrants caught in Panama were quickly returned to their home countries through agreements facilitated and funded by the U.S.
Humanitarian groups have noted the efficient implementation of these policies was designed to remove the viability of the Darién Gap entirely as a route for migration. As one analyst from VisaVerge.com pointed out, regional agreements allowed the policies to work in concert, making what was once a dangerous but bustling highway for migration practically impassable.
Human Costs of The Crackdown
But while the numbers show undeniable results in terms of migration reduction, the human costs tied to these strict policies remain deeply troubling. The Darién Gap hasn’t become any less dangerous; rather, fewer people now dare to cross it. Yet, the risks for those who still venture through remain high.
In 2024 alone, at least 55 migrants lost their lives attempting the journey. Reports showed tragic stories of people becoming lost, injured, or even left behind—among them 180 unaccompanied children who were abandoned in the jungle. Critics argue that strict deterrence policies, such as removing the CBP One app and favoring detention or deportation over humane processing, have made it harder for legitimate asylum seekers to find safe and legal ways to make their cases.
Opposition groups say these policies push migrants into using even more perilous routes, including those controlled by human smugglers or organized crime syndicates. A growing fear is that the people now attempting these journeys are even more isolated and vulnerable, with fewer emergency resources available in their paths than in years prior when humanitarian organizations were more active.
Winners and Losers: Economic Fallout Along the Gap
On a local level, the sharp reduction in migration has caused economic pain in areas that once relied heavily on supporting migrant flows. Transit communities along the jungle route, from places offering shelter to small vendors selling supplies, have seen sharp declines in their incomes. These towns are now struggling to find new ways to survive in a scenario that quickly erased their primary source of activity: transient migration.
Regional governments are also feeling uneven impacts. Countries like Panama and others in Central America, now home to stranded migrants unable to move north, are seeing new challenges in managing these populations. With few alternatives, many deportees or stranded individuals cannot return home, leaving them stuck in limbo. This situation threatens the long-term stability of those countries and further complicates regional relationships.
Polarizing Reactions and What Lies Ahead
Public opinion on Trump’s crackdown has been as polarized as the rest of his policies. Supporters see the 99% fall in Darién Gap crossings as overwhelming proof that the administration has finally tightened what they saw as previously porous borders. Many have cheered the reduction as a step toward restoring sovereignty to the U.S. immigration system. In contrast, critics assert that the so-called success comes at the expense of human dignity, with countless migrants expressing frustration, grief, and renewed desperation in the face of steep new restrictions.
The wider implications of these trends may take years to fully unfold. Policies targeting the Darién Gap could inadvertently shift migration trends elsewhere, creating new crises. Or, they may serve as a model for other nations considering tough-as-nails enforcement methods. Either way, the silence in the Darién jungle today symbolizes how deeply migration politics shape human lives. While crossings in the region may have largely ground to a halt, the underlying forces driving people to flee—poverty, conflict, lack of economic opportunity—persist, unresolved and unaddressed. Whether this crackdown represents a permanent shift or a temporary fix remains one of the most pressing questions in global immigration politics.
For current immigration policies, visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) official webpage.
Learn Today
Darién Gap → A dense, dangerous jungle between Colombia and Panama, historically a key migration route.
CBP One app → An application allowing migrants to book U.S. asylum appointments, suspended in 2025.
Expedited deportations → Fast-tracked removal of unauthorized migrants without extended court proceedings.
Executive Order 14159 → Order issued by Trump in 2025 to intensify immigration enforcement.
Biometric checkpoints → Technology-based identification systems used to track or deter migrants.
This Article in a Nutshell
The Darién Gap, once a major migration route, saw crossings drop by 99% under Trump’s policies, highlighting regional collaboration and restrictive enforcement measures. Humanitarian groups warn of rising dangers, pushing migrants to riskier paths. Economic impacts and policy criticisms persist, shaping ongoing immigration debates.
— By VisaVerge.com
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