Costa Rica on Monday announced that it will receive illegal immigrants from Central Asia and India deported from US following President Donald Trump’s crackdown.
Costa Rican president’s office said that first flight with 200 people from Central Asia and India is expected on Wednesday. This makes Costa Rica third country in Central America, after Panama and Guatemala, to collaborate with the US to repatriate deported migrants.
“The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the statement read.
“These are people originating from… Central Asia and India,” it added.
According to the president’s office the first set deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on a commercial flight, whereupon they will be transported to a Temporary Migrant Care Center near the border with Panama.
“The process will be completely financed by the US government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” the statement read.
Earlier, Guatemala and Panama had agreed to a similar arrangement following US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s recent visit to Latin America.
Panama had received the first batch of 119 migrants last week from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to Panamanian officials. None have arrived yet in Guatemala.
A third US aircraft carrying 112 illegal Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar International Airport on Sunday, marking the latest batch of deportations as part of the US administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Trump, however, took a hard line against undocumented migrants during last year’s US election campaign, describing some as “monsters” and “animals.”
On his first day in office last month, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern US border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.