Costa Rica agrees to take in deported Indians and Central Asians from US

This move follows similar commitments from Panama and Guatemala to work with the US on repatriating deported migrants (Image: PTI)

Costa Rica said on Monday that it will receive illegal immigrants from Central Asia and India deported from the United States following President Donald Trump’s crackdown.

Costa Rican president’s office has stated that the first flight, carrying 200 people from Central Asia and India, is expected to arrive on Wednesday. This move follows similar commitments from Panama and Guatemala to work with the US on repatriating deported migrants.

“The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the Costa Rican president's office said in a statement.

“These are people originating from… Central Asia and India,” it added.

According to the statement, the first group of deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on a commercial flight, after which they will be taken to a Temporary Migrant Care Center located near the Panama border.

Thereafter, they will reportedly be moved to the countries of their origin.

“The process will be completely financed by the US government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” it read.

After US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s recent Latin America visit, Guatemala and Panama had also agreed to a similar arrangement. Panama received its first group of 119 migrants last week, coming from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other nations. Meanwhile, Guatemala has yet to see any arrivals.

A third plane from the US, carrying 112 illegal Indian immigrants, touched down at Amritsar International Airport on Sunday, as part of the latest deportation effort amid the US administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.