Costa Rica’s government welcomed its first group of mostly Asian migrants deported from the United States on Thursday. This move is part of a deal with Washington to temporarily house up to 200 deportees from various nations.
These deportations are a component of U.S. President Donald Trump’s intensified crackdown on unlawful migration, which includes an increasing number of flights to nations that have agreed to cooperate with the U.S. on multinational repatriations.
The latest group of expelled migrants were flown from San Diego to Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose. From there, they were transported by bus to a migrant shelter near the border with Panama. The migrants will be allowed to stay in Costa Rica for one month, during which time officials will coordinate their voluntary return to their home countries, according to Deputy Security Minister Omer Badilla.
“Most of them want to return to their countries,” Badilla said, adding that those who declined would have their cases addressed on an individual basis.
The group, consisting of family units, included individuals from Uzbekistan, China, Armenia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Russia, Georgia, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, and Ghana.
Up to 200 migrants from other nations deported by the U.S. are expected to be sent to Costa Rica as part of the recent agreement. President Rodrigo Chaves announced this on Wednesday, citing the threat of U.S. tariffs on Costa Rican goods as a motivating factor.
Additionally, on Thursday, U.S. authorities ordered 177 Venezuelan migrants to be flown from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras. These migrants will later be sent to Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the Panamanian government reported that three of the migrants it had received from the U.S. had requested asylum and could potentially be received by other countries, such as Canada.