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Document reveals US plans to fund the deportation of Costa Ricans

According to a document obtained by, the U.S. State Department plans to spend $7.85m to help Costa Rican deport immigrants. This is similar to an earlier Biden program that was criticized by advocates for migrants.

The document states that the State Department will transfer funds from its "economic assistance fund" (which is used to support economic development in countries with allies) to the Department of Homeland Security which oversees immigration enforcement. DHS will work with Costa Rican officials to facilitate the deportation of Central American citizens.

Costa Rica accepted a request from the Trump administration earlier this year to accept 200 illegal immigrants who came from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Costa Rica was supposed to send these immigrants back to the countries where they originated, but dozens of them remain in the Central American nation.

When asked for comment, State Department said that the funds would be used to deport immigrants who were deported by the United States, and not to repatriate them.

A spokesperson stated that the program would help the Costa Rican Immigration Authorities to build their capacity in order to prevent illegal migration from crossing its borders. It will also provide training and resources for asylum screening.

The document provided details on the money transfer but did not specify when or if the deportation would take place.

The document states that the Costa Rica agreement is "in part", based on an arrangement signed in 2024 by the administration of the former U.S. president Joe Biden with Panama. Under this deal, the U.S. paid Panama to detain migrants traveling through the country while they were travelling from Colombia to U.S.A.

At the time, some migrant advocates as well as elected Democrats claimed that the agreement could prevent vulnerable populations from accessing the U.S. Asylum system.

The document was sent to certain congressional offices in the last few weeks. It stated that the Department intended to assist the Government of Costa Rica to conduct deportation operations of migrants who do not have international protection or any other legal basis to remain.

The activities would provide Costa Ricans with technical and logistical advice, including air transport, for deportation processes.

Costa Rica's public security and immigration ministries referred all questions to the President's office and foreign affairs ministry. Both entities did not respond to requests for comments.

NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPORTATION

Since Donald Trump became president of the United States in January, his administration relies on several novel arrangements to facilitate deportations.

There have been deals made with other countries, including Costa Rica, to accept illegal immigrants into the U.S. regardless of their connection to the nation where they were sent. Some of the countries that accept deportees are weak or have poor human rights records. This raises safety concerns.

The arrangement described in the document may be similar to that of the Biden administration with Panama in 2024, but there are some differences between the current situation in Costa Rica and the 2024 situation in Panama.

The northward migration from Colombia through the Darien gap to Panama, then on to Costa Rica and to the U.S.A. has been dramatically slowed.

Some Venezuelan migrants are also transiting through Costa Rica to continue their journey southward after they gave up trying to enter the U.S. because of Trump's crackdown against illegal migration and the elimination of Biden’s humanitarian parole program.

The document didn't specify which countries Costa Rica will deport migrants to, so it is possible that some may be sent to third-party countries.

It is not known if the Trump Administration plans to create similar programs for funding deportations of Latin American nationals.

Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary, has visited several Latin American countries to discuss immigration, including Costa Rica. El Salvador, and Chile. (Reporting and editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell in Washington, Additional reporting and Editing by Alvaro Murillo and Michael Perry in San Jose)

(source: Reuters)