A record 400K migrants have crossed the treacherous Darién jungle to reach the U.S.

BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama — Bajo Chiquito is a small Indigenous village built along a river. It's the first place that U.S.-bound migrants reach in Panama, after making the hazardous trek across the Darién jungle.

Here hundreds of people stand in long lines under the blazing sun, as they wait to register with Panamanian immigration officers who enter everyone's names on computers.

The migrants are exhausted and dehydrated after walking across the rainforest for several days. But the officers in Bajo Chiquito only have three laptops to process the large crowds. And while almost everyone here is allowed into Panama for a few days, many complain about the wait.

"This is horrible," said Valeria Aponte, a Venezuelan migrant who had been in line for two