The Costa Rican government announced the signing of a non-binding migration cooperation agreement with the United States. It allows the U.S. to propose the transfer of foreign, non-U.S. citizen individuals to Costa Rica, which can accept or reject each case independently. Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S., focused on joint management of migration flows, during the visit of the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, Kristi Noem, the Presidential House said in a statement. "It is a collaboration protocol between Costa Rica and the United States, so that Costa Rica can once again act as an ally of the United States in what matters for the hemisphere." According to the Costa Rican government, the agreement guarantees respect for human rights, including protection against return to countries where individuals may face danger or persecution. "We are very proud to have partners like the president and Costa Rica, who work with us to ensure that people in our country illegally have the opportunity to return to their countries of origin," Noem said. The government indicated that it is estimated that up to 25 people could be transferred per week, although the figure could be adjusted as determined by the country. "It is a voluntary agreement, we could reject whoever we want, not accept specific nationalities, but collaborate within the framework of the human rights of our country," Chaffes stated. Thus, once in the country, individuals sent from the United States will be attended to under Costa Rican migration legislation, receiving a temporary legal status while their situation is defined.
Separate families. Deport and imprison children. At least 11,000 children who are U.S. citizens have been left without their parents due to the wave of migrant detentions during the first seven months of Donald Trump's second term, which began in January 2025, according to a ProPublica investigation. These measures have disproportionately affected Latino families, with an average of more than 50 children losing a parent every day due to migrant detentions, according to the investigation of that prestigious media outlet, published this week. Likewise, mothers are being deported at a rate four times higher than in the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden, and 75 percent of those detained have no serious criminal records, the outlet reports. According to ProPublica, the analysis presents the most detailed count to date of U.S. citizen children whose immigrant parents have been arrested, detained, or deported. It is based on I-213 records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), obtained by the University of Washington, which include data on citizenship and the number of minor children of each detainee. The information covers from late 2021 to mid-2025 and only includes ICE arrests, not Customs and Border Protection (CBP). "Once again, what we are witnessing is a calculated attack on working Latino families," lamented Voto Latino executive director Beatriz López in a statement. "Targeting mothers."
