Costa Rica Joins Trump Third-Country Deportation Program
Costa Rica signed an agreement to accept up to 25 U.S. deportees weekly as part of a broader Trump administration strategy to relocate noncitizens to third countries.
The United States and Costa Rica signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on March 23, 2026, allowing the U.S. to deport noncitizens to Costa Rican territory. Under the deal, Costa Rica will accept up to 25 migrants per week, granting them temporary legal status while their cases are reviewed. The U.S. government will provide financial support, and the International Organization for Migration will fund food and housing. Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves and Public Security Minister Mario Zamora Cordero emphasized that the agreement is voluntary, allowing Costa Rica to reject specific transfers to ensure human rights and avoid returning individuals to countries where they face persecution.
This arrangement is part of a broader strategy by the Donald Trump administration to expand deportation capacity via partners in Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere when a migrant's home nation refuses their return. Similar deals have been established with Belize, Honduras, Paraguay, Ecuador, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Guyana. Reports also indicate a secret deal with Cameroon involving diplomatic silence on a domestic crackdown and the withholding of UN refugee funds.
Parallel to the Costa Rica deal, the program has faced legal challenges. Pheap Rom, a Cambodian national deported to Eswatini in October 2025, was released on March 26, 2026, for repatriation to Cambodia after five months in a maximum-security prison. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security paid Eswatini $5.1 million to accept up to 160 deportees, though lawyers for Rom argued these detentions were unlawful.
