President Biden will host President Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica on the White House on Tuesday as their international locations attempt to rein in a surge of migration within the Western Hemisphere.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Chaves, who was elected final yr, will even focus on financial ties and job creation, administration officers stated. They spoke on the situation of anonymity to preview the assembly.
The Biden administration’s plan to stem unlawful migration within the United States includes cracking down on asylum seekers on the U.S.-Mexico border whereas working with Central American nations, like Costa Rica, to develop methods for migrants to use for cover nearer to their residence international locations.
Costa Rica not too long ago agreed to construct two facilities the place migrants can apply for such authorized protections with out crossing the border.
Mr. Chaves is hoping that the websites will relieve strain on his nation’s asylum system as properly. Costa Rica, a preferred vacationer vacation spot, has struggled to deal with the variety of migrants fleeing violence in Nicaragua and Venezuela.
More than 270,000 migrants have been in Costa Rica searching for safety by the top of 2022, in line with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. As the nation struggled with the surge, Mr. Chaves carried out numerous restrictions on the nation’s asylum system, together with a 30-day time restrict for migrants to use for asylum in addition to stringent guidelines for issuing work permits.
The variety of unlawful crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border elevated in July after a pointy drop the earlier month. The greater than 99,500 crossings in June was a 42 p.c drop from May, which the Biden administration attributed to a brand new asylum rule that set the next bar for a migrant to be eligible to use for asylum within the United States. Crossings, nonetheless, elevated to greater than 132,000 in July.
The White House views Costa Rica as one of many strongest democracies in a area that has slipped into authoritarianism in recent times. Mr. Chaves, who promised to upend the Latin American political institution and massive business, attended Mr. Biden’s Summit of the Americas, which was snubbed by different key nations within the area, together with Mexico.
But Mr. Chaves has additionally initiated assaults towards journalists investigating accusations of sexual harassment and monetary misconduct, utilizing govt powers to limit their shops of income. During his marketing campaign final yr, he additionally tried to attenuate a World Bank investigation into sexual harassment allegations towards him.
Source: www.nytimes.com