Q COSTARICA — On Saturday, Costa Rica received 25 foreign nationals and one Costa Rican citizen deported from the United States, as part of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries.
The group is comprised of individuals from Albania, Cameroon, China, Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Morocco.
The largest group is from Guatemala, with eight people, followed by Cameroon and Honduras, with four each, three people from India, two each from China and Morocco, and one each from Albania and Kenya.
As part of the entry process, Costa Rican authorities implemented exceptional measures to facilitate the migrants’ care.
These measures included waiving the visa requirement for some nationalities and, in the case of Honduras, eliminating the requirement for a criminal background check.
However, it was indicated that all individuals underwent background checks in judicial systems, as well as consultations with international databases, including Interpol.
Upon arrival, migrants receive initial assistance from Costa Rica’s immigration police, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the organization that provides humanitarian assistance, including lodging, food, and support during the first seven days of their stay in the country.
During this period, individuals may choose to participate in the Assisted Voluntary Return program, which allows them to return to their countries of origin with logistical support.
Those who wish to remain in Costa Rica may also initiate a process for temporary immigration regularization for humanitarian reasons.
Another available option is applying for asylum, which can be done at any time in accordance with current regulations.
If neither of these options is chosen, individuals may leave the processing center and continue their journey on their own, after notifying immigration authorities.
The agreement
Last month, the government of Rodrigo Chaves agreed to receive up to 25 deported migrants a week from the United States, as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to ramp up his mass deportation program, including removing immigrants to third countries that are not their country of origin. The Trump administration has said that such third-country deportations are necessary to remove people whose home countries refuse to accept them.
Read more: 65 children and two pregnant women among the arrived in Costa Rica deported from the US
The new agreement allows Costa Rica a closer alliance with Donald Trump’s government, which has been securing cooperation from other Central American countries in accepting deportees from other nations who have been detained by US immigration agents.
“Costa Rica feels obligated to reciprocate at a time when the United States and its immigration services need the humanitarian cooperation of Costa Rican authorities,” said the Ministro de Seguridad Publica (MSP), Mario Zamora.
“With financial support from the United States, they will be provided with housing and food on Costa Rican soil. Costa Rican immigration authorities will collaborate with US immigration authorities to carry out all the necessary immigration logistics to guarantee the return of these individuals to their countries,” added Zamora and explaining that the agreement was voluntary, maintaining that the Costa Rican government had the discretion to decide the number of deportees it will accept, as well as their nationality.