Panama Conducts a Document Verification Process for Foreigners

Over the past few days, the National Migration Service has conducted a document verification process for foreign citizens residing and transiting in David, Chiriquí.  The agency reported that a nighttime operation was carried out in public spaces in the city of David with the support of the National Police and the Community House of Justice for Peace of the Municipality of David.  During this process, 77 verifications were carried out on citizens, resulting in the summons of four foreigners by the Directorate of Operations and Immigration Control.  The agency said that these four foreign citizens were carrying out work or profit-making activities without authorization.  The document verification operation for foreigners was carried out in the San Mateo sector, the David Bus Terminal, streets and avenues adjacent to Parque De Cervantes and the old Public Market, which were the main public spaces visited. 

I remember years ago when the Panama police would enter a large restaurant/bar where I and many English speaking expats would gather.  Police would enter the front, back and side doors at the same time to make sure that no one would make a run for it.  One by one, the expats would produce their identifications, and occasionally the police would find someone whose ID had expired and haul them away, and that included unpaid traffic tickets as well.  The director of the National Migration Service, Roger Mojica, said that in 15 days 747 foreigners had been verified, of which 152 had been summoned due to expired documents or because they did not have the respective immigration permits.  Mojica also reported that the Temporary Protection Permit that had been granted for two years expired Friday, July 19, and will not be renewed.  This permit gave migrants legal status to remain in the country for two years.  “We have to make a decision as a country about what we are going to do with those people that we allow to regularize their status and stay for two years in the country.  We have to develop what the situation will be if they continue or not, depending on the decision,” Mojica explained.