Costa Rica welcomed its first group of mostly Asian migrants deported from the United States on Thursday, marking a significant step in a new agreement between Costa Rica and Washington. This deal will temporarily house up to 200 deported individuals from various nations.
The deportations are part of a broader strategy by U.S. President Donald Trump to curb illegal immigration, with an increasing number of flights transporting deportees to countries cooperating on multinational repatriations. This latest group, flown from San Diego to Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, includes migrants from countries such as Uzbekistan, China, Armenia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Russia, and more. After their arrival, they were transported by bus to a shelter located near the Panama border.
Under the agreement, the deported individuals will be allowed to stay in Costa Rica for one month while their voluntary return to their home countries is coordinated. Costa Rican Deputy Security Minister Omer Badilla shared that most of the migrants have expressed a desire to return home, and those who choose not to will have their cases addressed individually.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves emphasized that this arrangement, which involves a potential influx of up to 200 deported migrants, was forged partly in response to the looming threat of U.S. tariffs on Costa Rican exports.
In parallel, U.S. authorities also ordered the deportation of 177 Venezuelan migrants from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras, from where they will eventually be sent back to Venezuela. Meanwhile, Panama announced that three of the migrants it received from the U.S. have requested asylum, with hopes of being resettled in other countries, such as Canada.
