Darien closes its doors

I HAD BEEN ASSURED BY ALL THE VERY BEST PEOPLE THAT THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT AN ACT OF CONGRESS:

Migrant crossings through Panama’s Darien Gap drop 99% after Trump takes office.

The report found that only 408 migrants traveled through the treacherous jungle route in February 2025, a 98.8 percent decrease from the 37,166 who made the journey in February 2024. Of those migrants, 151 were from Venezuela, 43 from Cameroon, 22 from Bangladesh, 21 from Colombia, 17 from Iran, and the rest from various countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The Darien Gap is a well-known jungle trail used by migrants passing through South America to Central America, as it is the only land bridge connecting the two regions. In 2023, the area saw record crossings, with Panama documenting over half a million migrants—more than double the number from 2022. Many Venezuelans have used this route in recent years to flee the socialist regime of President Nicolás Maduro.

The February total marks the lowest recorded number of migrants crossing the region since April to November 2020, when travel was significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, data from Panama’s Migrant Authority shows that no Chinese nationals were recorded crossing the Darien Gap in February. A report by Breitbart noted how there has been a steep decline from nearly 3,000 Chinese nationals in January 2024 to just five in January 2025.

Context:

January 26, 2024:

Biden promises to ‘shut down’ the border if given the authority in a bipartisan bill

“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said Friday night. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”

But, uh-oh: Even with a new law, you still can’t possibly stop the flow

January 30 2024:

Current and former DHS officials grumble about Biden's talk of shutting down the border

Current and former officials at the Department of Homeland Security are expressing concern over President Joe Biden’s assertion this weekend that he wants the authority to “shut down” the border.

…. Two former and two current DHS officials say that in order to shut down the border and block asylum-seekers, the U.S. would need the cooperation of Mexico to take back far more migrants.

One of the two former officials said Biden is sending a political message but not one that is based in logistical reality.

“You can’t shove back 8,000 migrants a day without the Mexicans’ approval,” the former official said. “What you would create is frantic surges in the weakened parts of the border.”

On his very first day in office, Biden used his executive authority to throw open our borders and invite in the world. Only when the political heat grew intolerable and the 2024 elections neared did he even pretend to want to reverse his decision, but claimed that he lacked the authority to do so. And the Department of Homeland Security then chimed in and said that nothing could be done, with or without new legislation.

They were both deliberately lying.