Court Frees Migrants, Slams Trump Administration for Turning Costa Rica Into a Dumping Ground

Ruling rebukes U.S.-Costa Rica deportation pact as unlawful detention of migrants sparks human rights concerns ahead of Homeland Security chief's visit

WASHINGTON — Costa Rica’s constitutional court ordered on Wednesday the release of nearly 200 migrants deported from the United States under a controversial third-country resettlement agreement negotiated by the Trump administration, ruling that the migrants were unlawfully detained and denied basic legal protections.

The decision, issued Tuesday by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, gives Costa Rican immigration officials 15 days to determine the legal status of the remaining detainees—among them 13 minors—and assess their eligibility for state assistance, including health care, education, and housing. The migrants were sent to Costa Rica in February and held at the Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM), located in the southern Puntarenas province.

The court found that the migrants’ prolonged detention at CATEM violated their rights to freedom of movement, access to legal counsel, and due process. “They had been deprived of their freedom of movement without a prior individual ruling,” the court wrote, according to BBC News. The judges also criticized the lack of information provided to the migrants about the possibility of applying for asylum in Costa Rica.