MEXICO CITY

Costa Rica’s President-elect Laura Fernandez Delgado on Tuesday praised an initial agreement under which her country will ⁠accept migrants deported by the US ​from other countries.

The landmark deal allows the US to deport up to 25 people per week to the Central American nation.

It was formalized during a visit by Kristi Noem, the former US Secretary of Homeland Security who is now serving as the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative.

It covers travel costs to the country, with the Costa Rican government retaining the authority to admit or reject migrants at its discretion.

“They would notify us in advance, and Costa Rica would have the authority to say that certain individuals will not be received, or that people of certain nationalities will not be accepted. No one who arrives would have a criminal record or pending charges,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez, who will take office in May, said the country will serve as a point of arrival for undocumented migrants from various countries, from where they will return to their countries of origin.

She was elected president in a first-round victory on Feb. 1 and pledged a strong alliance with the US under President Donald Trump, including cooperation on security and migration.

Costa Rica is a participant in the Shield of the Americas initiative, a security coalition announced early this year focused on regional drug trafficking and immigration led by the US and involving several Latin American nations.

The agreement between Costa Rica and the US was signed in the capital San Jose on March 23 between outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves and Noem.

During the press conference celebrating the signing, Chaves described it as a testament to the robust relationship between the two countries.

"It is a protocol of cooperation with the United States for Costa Rica to act as a US ally on matters that matter in the hemisphere. It is a voluntary agreement; we could reject anyone, decline to accept specific nationalities, but cooperate within the framework of the country’s human rights," he said.

Since the start of the second Trump administration on Jan. 20, 2025, the US government has significantly expanded its deportation efforts by securing partnerships with foreign nations to accept third-country nationals.

Key allies in Latin America such as El Salvador have served both as a base to enforce US anti-immigration policy and as locations of serious human rights violations against deported migrants.