On Tuesday, Panama launched a big new program to deal with illegal immigrants passing through the country. Here’s the twist: US taxpayers will be picking up the tab to send these migrants back to their home countries. This move is part of a new plan by Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino to stop his country from being a major route for people trying to get to the United States.

Last year, over half a million migrants crossed the dangerous Darien Gap, a jungle area between Panama and Colombia. To tackle this, Panama has started flying migrants who entered illegally back to their home countries. The US government is paying for these flights, which is costing American taxpayers around $6 million to start.

On the very first flight of this new program, 29 Colombians were sent back home. These migrants had criminal records in Colombia, and one was even linked to a notorious criminal gang called the Clan del Golfo. They were all escorted onto the plane in handcuffs and ankle cuffs,...