President-elect Laura Fernández defended Costa Rica’s new migration agreement with the United States on Tuesday, arguing that the deal gives the country flexibility while deepening cooperation with a key security partner. The agreement, announced Monday during a visit by U.S. envoy Kristi Noem, would allow Washington to transfer up to 25 non U.S. nationals per week to Costa Rican territory under a nonbinding arrangement.
Speaking after meetings with congressional caucuses, Fernández described the pact as a win win for Costa Rica and the United States. She said the agreement would only be activated if needed and stressed that Costa Rica would retain the power to accept or reject each proposed transfer, including refusing specific nationalities.
The agreement was signed during Noem’s visit to San José, where she met with President Rodrigo Chaves and Fernández, who is set to take office on May 8. Costa Rica’s government has framed the measure as voluntary rather than mandatory, saying it lets the United States propose the transfer of foreign nationals who are not U.S. citizens while leaving the final decision in Costa Rican hands.
Fernández said the people eventually received under the arrangement would not have criminal records or pending court cases. She also said Costa Rica would function as a temporary bridge for those individuals while they are sent onward to their countries of origin. Under the terms outlined publicly so far, those received in Costa Rica would be granted a special temporary legal status while their cases are processed under Costa Rican migration law.
Another point Fernández highlighted was cost. Costa Rica says the U.S. government will finance the support required for the transferred migrants, while the International Organization for Migration will handle lodging and food, meaning the arrangement is not expected to generate direct costs for the Costa Rican state.
The agreement has quickly become politically sensitive. Critics in Costa Rica have warned against turning the country into a holding point for people expelled from the United States, while the government has tried to answer those concerns by emphasizing sovereignty, case by case discretion, and the absence of criminal records among those sent here. Local reporting also indicates that implementation will be coordinated by the Ministry of Public Security rather than the immigration authority.
The issue carries added weight because Costa Rica already handled a similar operation last year. Between February and March 2025, the country received 200 deportees from the United States and housed them at the Temporary Migrant Care Center near the Panama border. That process later drew criticism and led to a Constitutional Chamber ruling ordering the migrants’ immediate release in June.
Fernández has tied the agreement to broader cooperation with Washington, especially on drug trafficking and transnational crime. She pointed to past joint work with U.S. agencies and cast the new migration arrangement as part of a wider security partnership rather than an isolated concession. For now, the government’s message is that Costa Rica is cooperating with the United States on its own terms, with the right to say no still at the center of the deal.
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