2023-10-04 12:00:00
The national emergency in Costa Rica, declared on September 29 by President Rodrigo Chávez, represents a new episode of the migration crisis towards the United States.
Panorama general. Throughout 2023, some 390 thousand migrants have entered Costa Rica from the southern border of Paso Canoas, in contrast to 2022, when 248 thousand people entered throughout the year. While the final destination of the majority of migrants is the US, many of them end up staying in the originally temporary destination: Costa Rica.
The situation has led the government to declare a national emergency, in order to be able to receive the flow of migrants and avoid the collapse of assistance institutions.
Of the migrants who cross the dangerous Darien jungle on their way to the United States, approximately 11% decide to stay in Costa Rica, which would represent about 35,200 immigrants who stayed in the country in 2023.
You (I). According to Jorge Rodríguez Bogle, vice minister of the Presidency, “We are overwhelmed in the possibility of attending to in an ordinary way what the institutions could attend to.”
“Just the amount of waste that accumulates does not allow the municipality of Corredores to deal with the garbage that is generated there on a daily basis, not to mention in health matters, not to mention in other areas, the problem of drinking water, for example. ”.
Between lines. While the declaration of national emergency responds, publicly, to being able to provide better assistance to migrants on their way to their final destination, it is in the interest of the government to use it to have control of the people who remain in the country. Among the measures taken by the government are:
Enabling the Temporary Care Center for Migrants (CATEM): “with the opening of this center, the authorities want to prevent people from being stranded on the streets of local communities.”
Coordination with Panama: “The Panama authorities will share information on the number of people traveling on the buses, which will speed up the verification and transfer procedures of migrants to the north of Costa Rica.”
The measures respond not only to providing humanitarian treatment to migrants, but also to ensuring that they do not remain in Costa Rica and continue their route to the United States.
You (II). Reflection of the urgency to solve the problem are the statements of President Chávez: “This is a generous people, do not confuse that generosity with weakness, the deportation processes have already begun and they are coming back and if they want to play ping pong with us, let’s go to be patient.”
“Whoever comes here will respect our laws, our police and the towns through which they will travel.”
“I have instructed the Ministry of Public Security to have a firm hand with those few people who think that the gentleness, kindness and generous heart of Costa Ricans can be confused with weakness.”
“To migrants who arrive in Costa Rica and behave badly, disrespecting the authorities, causing disturbances, the message is that they are going back to their country of origin, because we are not going to tolerate it here.”
On the radar. The situation led, at the end of August, to a meeting between Chávez and Joe Biden with the aim of coordinating efforts to prevent the overflow of migrants living in both countries. Currently, it is estimated that up to 3,000 people cross the Costa Rican border daily, when in June the average was 900 people daily.
The immigration issue is the main point of the presidential campaign in the US, where the vast majority of the Republican Party is aligned in toughening immigration policies.
As for the Democratic Party, there are divisions between moderates who accept common sense policies on immigration and more radical factions—such as Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—who believe that borders should not exist.
The development of the situation in Costa Rica is vital for the United States, who would benefit from the Central American country serving as a filter to retain South American migrants seeking to reach North America.
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