San Jose/New Delhi, Feb 26 (UNI) A second group of migrants deported from the United States, including Indian nationals, arrived in Costa Rica on Tuesday, as part of the 200 foreign nationals that the Costa Rican government has agreed to receive.
An Eastern Air Express American Airlines flight landed at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), in Alajuela Province, on Tuesday afternoon with 65 passengers on board. The group included 16 children accompanied by 14 adults, as well as 35 men.
The migrants are from various countries, including Russia, Yemen, Nepal, India, China, Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Georgia among others, a Costa Rican news portal said.
Upon arrival, authorities transported them to the Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM) in Corredores, Puntarenas Province, where they will remain until their extradition process to their home countries is completed.
The first group of 135 migrants, including at least 50 children, arrived last week on a flight operated by Alaska Airlines. The US government is funding the flights.
Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration reported that its director, Omer Badilla, has requested a new date to appear before the Congressional Human Rights Commission. His scheduled testimony, which was set to address the treatment of deported migrants in Costa Rica, coincided with the flight’s arrival.
Earlier this week, Costa Rican Ombudsman Angie Cruickshank Lambert identified several shortcomings in caring for the first group of deportees.
Costa Rica is the third Central American country to accept deportees from the United States, following similar agreements reached with Panama and Guatemala during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent Latin American tour.
Last week, Costa Rica received a group of 135 migrants, who were transferred to the Center for Temporary Attention of Migrants (CATEM) at the Southern Border after midnight on February 22.
The migrants, including Indian nationals, are set to be returned to their countries of origin. They arrived in Costa Rica as part of a bilateral agreement signed with the United States to manage the increasing numbers of deported individuals.
Costa Rican authorities decided to house them at the CATEM center, located in the Southern Zone.
A similar measure was implemented by the Panamanian government, which chose to transfer a group of migrants to the San Vicente refugee camp in Metetí, in the jungle province of Darién.
The CATEM center can accommodate the group for up to four to six weeks, depending on the logistics involved. The decision by Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves’ government to accept this group of deportees has sparked controversy within the country, with many questioning the broader implications it may have on Costa Rica’s international standing and immigration policies.
As part of the process, Costa Rica will be responsible for making the necessary diplomatic arrangements to have these individuals returned to their home countries. Costa Rica has stressed that its role is simply to act as a “bridge” in this process.
For many of the migrants, returning to their countries is not an option. They are expected to seek asylum in Costa Rica. The government has confirmed that it will respect the rights of these individuals to apply for refugee status.
However, Costa Rica has previously stated that it is overwhelmed by the migratory flow, lacking sufficient resources to properly accommodate and process the large number of individuals seeking refuge. The country’s immigration authorities have also noted that the volume of refugee applications significantly exceeds their ability to handle them in a timely manner.
The United States has an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants, most of whom are from Latin America.
