On a U.S. deportation flight of mostly Asians to Costa Rica, half will be minors
A deportation flight from the U.S. carrying 135 mostly Asian undocumented migrants, 65 of whom are minors, is expected to land in Costa Rica on Thursday afternoon.
A deportation flight leaving the United States on Thursday carrying 135 mostly Asian undocumented migrants is expected to land in Costa Rica in the afternoon. Almost half of the migrants will be children.
The migrants, heading from San Diego to San Jose, hail from China and Afghanistan, among other countries. Sixty-five minors and at least two pregnant women are among the deportees, Omer Badilla, Costa Rica’s deputy minister of the interior and police, told Noticias Telemundo on Wednesday.
Some of the migrants’ home countries have not easily accepted to repatriate them. In the meantime, Costa Rica serves as a “bridge” for them, the U.S. government has said.
The deportation flight is the latest headed to Central America, as some 300 people — also from mostly Asian countries — are being held in a Panama hotel.
Badilla said Costa Rica agreed to accept the migrants “because of our history and our customs as human rights protectors,” and that the agreement with the Trump administration isn’t based on any special conditions.
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