Temporary Migrant Care Center
| Location | Corredores, Puntarenas, Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Capacity | 300[1] |
| Opened | October 2023[2] |
| Managed by | Directorate General of Immigration and Nationality |
The Temporary Migrant Care Center[a] (Spanish: Centro de Atención Temporal a Migrantes, abbreviated CATEM) is a migrant detention and processing facility located in Corredores, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
CATEM became the subject of increased scrutiny following President Rodrigo Chaves Robles' decision to accept 200 migrants of non-Costa Rican nationality who were removed from the United States as part of the immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administation into Costa Rica,[3] and to detain these migrants at CATEM pending repatriation to their home countries.[4] Prior to this, the facility had primarily been used to serve migrants in transit through Costa Rica.[5]
Background
[edit]In 2023, the number of migrants crossing into Costa Rica via its southern border increased significantly.[6] In June, daily crossing were reported at 900, which increased to nearly 2,700 in August. Costa Rican authorities had previously implemented a bus transportation program that would take migrants to Los Chiles along the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border for a US$30 fee in order to reduce the impact of migration on locals. However, migrants who could not afford the bus remained stuck in border areas. Some migrants began working as street vendors to raise the money required to pay for bus transport, leading to a confrontation with police.[7]
On 26 September 2023, following the confrontation, President Chaves Robles pronounced a national emergency in order to marshal additional resources to address the situation.[8] Commentators opined that the emergency declaration, emblematic of Chaves Robles' "confrontational and polarizing" style, was part of a strategy to use the conflict as an opportunity to build political legitimacy.[7]
History
[edit]In October 2023, Costa Rica and Panama came to a bilateral agreement to transport migrants who had crossed the Darien Gap in Panama directly to CATEM by bus[9] for a fee. From there, migrants would again be transported by bus to the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border crossing for an additional fee. The intent was "for [Costa Rican] citizens to barely notice these migrant movements", according to Chaves Robles. At the time, Costa Rican authorities estimated that the buses could move up to 3,000 migrants to the northern border crossing per day.[10]
In March 2024, UNICEF announced the opening of a Child-Friendly Safe Space in CATEM's facilities. The funding for the Safe Space was provided by the French Embassy in Costa Rica. Various agencies were involved in the creation of the space, primarily the Child Welfare Agency (PANI), with support from the National Directorate of Community Development, the Directorate General of Immigration and Nationality (DGME), and UNICEF. According to UNICEF, these spaces provide migrant children with psychological support and opportunities for growth and development in the face of the adversity of migration.[6]
Role in renditions from the United States
[edit]In February 2025, Costa Rica agreed to receive 200 migrants renditioned from the United States to be detained at CATEM pending their repatriation, with the costs of the operation being covered by the United States.[3][11] Of the agreement, President Chaves Robles said, "we are helping the economically powerful brother from the north who, if he puts a tax on the free trade zones, will wreck us.”[12] Chaves Robles' comment followed a conflict between Colombia and the United States in January 2025 in which U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro with tariffs over Colombia's initial refusal to accept Colombians deported from the United States due to their arrival on military, as opposed to civilian, aircraft.[13]
On 20 February 2025, the first group of 135 migrants, including 65 children, arrived at Juan Santamaria International Airport and were then immediately transferred to CATEM by bus.[3][14] According to the Costa Rican Ombudsman's Office, the migrants did not even know to which country they had been sent.[15] Head of the DGME Omel Badilla said in an announcement that the migrants were mostly families rather than single individuals[3] and that at least 13 different nationalities were represented among them,[16] including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Ghana, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.[17][18] Security Minister Mario Zamora claimed the migrants will stay at CATEM for four to six weeks while arrangements are made for their repatriation.[4]
On 24 February 2025, the second group of 65 migrants arrived in Costa Rica.
In March 2025, Human Rights Watch called on Foreign Minister Arnoldo Andre Tinoco to commit to allowing renditioned migrants to seek asylum in Costa Rica before the Legislative Assembly and to make public the deal struck with the U.S. to accept renditioned migrants.[19]
In April 2025, it was reported that some migrants detained at CATEM escaped the facility.[20] Authorities in Costa Rica sent out an alert to help locate the migrants and return them to CATEM, but their current whereabouts are unknown.[21] Another group of migrants left the facility after being permitted to seek asylum in Costa Rica.[20]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Also translated as the Migrant Attention Center or the Migrant Care Center in various sources.
References
[edit]- ^ Campos, Michelle (2025-02-20). "Este es el CATEM, sitio donde Costa Rica recibirá a los migrantes deportados por Trump". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ "Costa Rica abre centro para migrantes en frontera sur con Panamá". France 24. 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2025-04-12.
- ^ a b c d Correal, Annie; Bolaños, David (2025-02-21). "Costa Rica Receives First Flight of Trump Deportees From Faraway Countries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ a b "Costa Rica's Role in U.S. Deportations Sparks Debate". The Tico Times. 2025-02-22. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ Campos, Michelle (2025-02-20). "Este es el CATEM, sitio donde Costa Rica recibirá a los migrantes deportados por Trump". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ a b "Child-Friendly Safe Spaces for migrant children and adolescents". www.unicef.org. 2024-09-27. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ a b González Díaz, Marcos (2023-09-27). ""Estamos sobrepasados": la grave crisis migratoria qué llevo al presidente Chaves a pedir la declaración de emergencia nacional". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ "Costa Rica to declare state of emergency amid migrant surge". Reuters. 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ "Panama, Costa Rica agree to a plan to speed migrants passing through from Darien Gap". AP News. 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
- ^ "Costa Rica, Panama Agree Bus Plan for Migrants". The Tico Times. 2023-10-07. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ "Costa Rica receives migrants deported from U.S." AM Costa Rica. 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ Correal, Annie (2025-02-24). "What Trump's Deportation Plans Mean for Central America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ Correal, Annie; Turkewitz, Julie; Glatsky, Genevieve (2025-01-28). "Inside Colombia's Crisis Over Trump's Deportations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ "Foreigners from Asia and India deported from the U.S. to stay in Costa Rica for up to six weeks". AM Costa Rica. 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ Correal, Annie; Bolaños, David (2025-02-21). "Trump Deportees Arrived in 'Visible Distress,' Costa Rica's Ombudsman Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ Madrigal, Wilmer (2025-02-20). "Fotos y video: Así es el centro que albergará migrantes". Diario Extra (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ "Costa Rica Ombudsman finds failures in care of U.S. deportees". AM Costa Rica. 2025-02-24. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ USA, El Periódico (2025-04-08). "Solicitan refugio en Costa Rica 16 migrantes chinos deportados por Estados Unidos". El Periódico USA. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
- ^ "Costa Rica: Allow Deported Migrants to Seek Asylum | Human Rights Watch". 2025-03-18. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ a b Arroyo, Allan (2025-04-05). "12 personas chinas deportadas por EE.UU. ya salieron del Catem para instalarse en Costa Rica al pedir refugio". El Observador Costa Rica. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ "Asian Migrants Escape Costa Rican Shelter Amid U.S. Deportation Crisis". The Tico Times. 2025-04-01. Retrieved 2025-04-12.