A new edict orders procedures which are very similar to the "melting pot" held under previous administrations, in order to regularize the status of undocumented immigrants.
An article on Prensa.com reports that "...Decrees 167 and 168 issued on June 3, 2016 by the Executive for general regularization and also for migrants from China, respectively, have generated a debate about its resemblance to Decree 547 of July 22, 2012, whereby migratory regularization fairs known as the Melting Pot were created during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli."
In the ninth round of “Crisol de Razas” (Race Melting Pot) organized by the National Immigration Service (NMS) some 5,300 foreigners have had their immigration status regularized.
Since the beginning of this conference, the NMS has issued some 23,000 temporary permits to foreigners.
For its part the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Mitradel), gave out 1.205 two-year work permits.
Permanent residency has been granted to Argentineans, Brazilians, Uruguayans, Chileans, Spanish, and nationals of other countries friendly to Panama.
Executive Decree No. 343 of May 16, 2012, creates a new Permanent Resident Immigration Category and subcategory Permanent Resident Foreign National for specific countries with which there are relations that are friendly, professional, economic and relating to investment in Panama.
An extraordinary migratory regularization process, called " Panamá, Crisol de Razas” (Panama, the Melting Pot) will be reactivated from 3 to October 7, 2011.
The country has large numbers of foreigners with irregular migratory status, and this will be the seventh time that this process has been activated The process aims to grant residence permits to foreigners who have been in the country for a year or longer, for which they must show entry stamps from when they came to the country.
New regulations impose more controls on foreign population, with severe fines for illegal aliens.
The new law includes penalties for companies hiring undocumented immigrants and $100 monthly fines for foreigners staying illegally in the country.
"Pensions of $1.000 a month or rents of $2.000 a month will be needed for a residence permit", reports Mipunto.com, "...hotels and hostels will have to keep record of those who stay with them".
According to the Union of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (PyMEs), the new migratory law has made the country less competitive for the small investor.
The new law, which was approved in February, increased the total of the minimum investment from $40,000 to $160,000.
ADN.es publishes comments by Ramón Arroyave, president of the Union of PyMEs, "we have regressed to being less competitive.
Criticized by those that are affected, the new immigration legislation will regulate the stay of foreigners in the country and modernized laws that date back to 1960.
The new law reorganizes the different types of visas, requirements and penalties (in case of failure to comply) for foreigners that decide to enter and to stay in Panama. It gives visitors up to 90 days to stay in the country.
Californian farmers organized an agricultural summit in Fresno to seek ways of bringing more Central American workers to the United States to harvest their crops.
El Salvador's deputy president, Ana Vilma de Escobar, attended the meeting. The American farmers, she said, urgently need to hire 180,000 workers. But Escobar was reluctant to make any promises pending a US immigration reform that would provide permanent residence for thousands of Salvadorans already living in the US on temporary visas.