Mexico City, MEXICO – Human rights lawyers have taken legal action against Costa Rica, accusing the Central American country of violating the rights of numerous migrant children by confining them in a rural camp for almost two months following their deportation from the United States in February. These children, some of whom are as young as 2 years old, are part of a larger group of migrants from various Asian countries like Afghanistan, China, and Russia, who were deported from the U.S. in an effort led by the Trump administration to increase deportations. Many of these migrants had sought asylum in the U.S. and expressed fear of returning to their home countries, but instead found themselves in Costa Rica and Panama, where they faced language barriers.
Critics have characterized this deportee processing as a way for the U.S. to outsource its deportation procedures, with human rights organizations cautioning that Costa Rica and Panama were becoming a “black hole” for deportees. In Costa Rica, around 200 migrants, including 81 children, were transported to a rural processing center along the border with Panama and confined in a former factory building.
The lawsuit filed by the Global Strategic Litigation Council and other human rights groups alleges that Costa Rica violated the Convention on the Rights of the Child by detaining these migrants without legal status, educational services, or mental health support in their native language. The extended detention in inadequate conditions has raised concerns about the welfare of these children and their emotional well-being.
According to Silvia Serna Roman, one of the attorneys involved in the lawsuit, migrants have been deprived of access to legal representation, and many families are afraid to leave the detention facility due to fears of ending up on the streets with nowhere to go. The Costa Rican government has offered migrants the option to return to their home countries or seek asylum locally to exit the facility, yet families remain in a state of “indefinite detention” at the CATEM center.
Costa Rican officials have refuted claims made by the country’s Ombudsman’s Office regarding the arrival condition of deportees and the accommodations provided to them. President Rodrigo Chaves expressed that Costa Rica was extending a helping hand by accepting Asian migrants, despite the ongoing challenges faced by deportees in the country.
Legal battles surrounding the deportation of migrants to Central American nations like Panama and El Salvador have gained momentum, with concerns about proper treatment, adequate conditions, and access to due process sparking fierce political debates and international scrutiny. The plight of these migrants underscores the broader challenges and complexities of the immigration system in various regions.