Costa Rica-US immigration agreement aims to manage region’s flows

By JAVIER CORDOBA
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica and the U.S. government have agreed to open potential legal pathways to the United States for some of the Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants among the 240,000 asylum seekers already awaiting asylum in the Central American country. The agreement – announced by Costa Rica Tuesday and the United States late Monday – appears aimed at reducing the pressure on Costa Rica’s overwhelmed system and heading off asylum seekers who could give up on the slow Costa Rica process and instead set off for the U.S. border. In recent years, Costa Rica with a population of only 5 million has become one of the world’s leading receptors of asylum requests.