First deportees arrive in Costa Rica under third-country agreement with U.S.

OAN Staff Addie Davis
9:30 AM – Monday, April 13, 2026

Costa Rica received the first group of migrants deported from the U.S. under the newly signed-third country agreement.

On Saturday, a plane carrying around 25 migrants touched down in the Latin American country, their home countries including Albania, Cameroon, China, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya and Morocco, media outlets reported.

The arrival is part of a deal between the U.S. and Costa Rica where the latter has agreed to accept up to 25 third-country deported migrants a week, meaning people whose nationality is neither American nor Costa Rican.

“Upon entering the country, the migrants will receive primary care from the Professional Migration Police, with the cooperation of the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” said Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners in a statement, per the New York Post.

The Tico Times explained migrants will be processed under Costa Rican Law and provided temporary humanitarian protection while the next step in their cases is worked on, with officials having said they won’t send people to places where they may face persecution.

Costa Rica has also reserved the right to accept migrants on a case by case basis. In return, the U.S. reportedly will provide financial support, and the IOM is also expected to offer support for the first week of the migrants’ stay, including food and accommodation.

The agreement was signed in late March as Kristi Noem’s final act as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and in her new role as U.S. Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas during a visit to the Latin American nation, according to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica.

The Shield of the Americas is a multi-national coalition working to stop foreign interference in the hemisphere, criminal gangs and cartels, and illegal and mass immigration, as described by the U.S. State Department.

“We are very proud to have partners like President [Chaves] and Costa Rica, who are working to ensure that people who are in our country illegally have the opportunity to return to their countries of origin,” Noem said in a statement then, according to The Post.

The Trump Administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and large-scale deportation efforts have garnered vehement backlash from the Democrat Party and others, with third-country deportations receiving specific criticism.

Much of the criticism has been based on humanitarian concerns, and others have voiced disapproval over costs.

According to a February report by Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the third-country deportations have cost tens of millions of dollars, with several countries having received significant payments to accept migrants. The report estimates that deportations to at least one country, Rwanda, have reached costs of more than $1 million per deportee. However, in El Salvador, that estimate is just over $20,000.

Media outlets claimed that agreements similar to the one with Costa Rica exist with other nations, including Dominica, Guyana, Honduras, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis and South Sudan.

In 2025, Costa Rica reportedly accepted nearly 200 migrants deported from the U.S., with 85 eventually being granted special migratory status after they were unable to be repatriated to their home countries.

“Together, the United States and Costa Rica continue delivering concrete results to end mass and illegal migration, strengthen security, and promote regional stability,” the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica said in a March 24th statement announcing the agreement.

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