By Gram Slattery and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department is planning to spend up to $7.85 million to help Costa Rica deport immigrants, according to a document seen by Reuters, under an arrangement similar to a Biden-era program that drew criticism from migrant advocates.
According to the document, the State Department will transfer money from its “economic support fund” – which is typically used to boost economic development in allied countries – to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement. DHS will then work with Costa Rican authorities to facilitate deportations from the Central American nation.
Earlier in the year, Costa Rica agreed to a Trump administration request that it accept 200 immigrants originating from Africa, Asia and Europe who were in the U.S. illegally. While the plan was for Costa Rica to send those immigrants back to their countries of origin, dozens remain in the Central American country.
Asked for comment, the State Department suggested that the new funds were mainly intended to help Costa Rica deport migrants passing through the country on the way to the U.S., rather than repatriate those immigrants deported from the United States.
“The program will build capacity of the Costa Rican immigration authorities to stop the flow of illegal migration through its borders, while also providing training and resources on asylum screening,” a spokesperson said.
While the document gave details of the planned money transfer, it was not clear when the deportation effort will happen or if it could be subject to changes.
According to the document, the Costa Rica arrangement is modeled “in part” on a deal signed in 2024 between the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden and Panama, under which the U.S. paid for Panama to detain and deport migrants moving through the country as they traveled from Colombia to the U.S.
Some migrant advocates and elected Democrats said at the time that the deal could essentially stop vulnerable populations from having access to the U.S. asylum system.
“The Department intends to support the Government of Costa Rica in conducting deportation operations of migrants that do not have international protections or other legal grounds to remain,” reads the document, which was sent in recent weeks to some congressional offices.
“Activities would provide Costa Rica with technical advice and logistical support, including air transportation, for deportation procedures.”
Costa Rica’s ministries of public security and immigration referred questions to the president’s office and the foreign affairs ministry. Neither entity responded to requests for comment.
NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPORTATION
Since U.S. President Donald Trump entered office in January, his administration has relied on a number of novel arrangements to facilitate deportations from the U.S.
These have included deals with other countries – including Costa Rica – to accept immigrants in the U.S. illegally, regardless of whether those migrants have any connection to the nations where they are sent. Some of the countries accepting deportees have weak institutions or poor human rights records, raising safety concerns.
While the arrangement outlined in the document is similar to the Biden administration’s 2024 deal with Panama, there are differences between the situation in Costa Rica now and in Panama in 2024.
Northward migration through the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama and onward to Costa Rica and the U.S. has slowed dramatically.
At the same time, some Venezuelan migrants have been transiting through Costa Rica on a southward journey, after giving up on entering the U.S. amid Trump’s crackdown on unlawful migration and his elimination of Biden’s humanitarian parole programs.
The document did not specify to what countries Costa Rica would deport the migrants, leaving open the possibility that some could be sent to a third-party country.
It was not clear if the Trump administration plans to set up similar programs to fund deportations from other Latin American nations.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has traveled to several Latin American countries in recent months to discuss immigration issues, including Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Chile.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Alvaro Murillo in San Jose; Editing by Don Durfee, Alistair Bell and Michael Perry)
