Legal Group Sues Costa Rica Over Rights of 81 Deported Children

Post by: Omar Nasser

Photo : AP

A legal battle has emerged in Costa Rica after a group of human rights lawyers filed a complaint accusing the Central American nation of violating the rights of 81 migrant children. These children were detained for nearly two months in a rural facility after being deported from the United States earlier this year.

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The children, some as young as two years old, were part of a larger group of migrants—primarily from Asian countries such as Afghanistan, China, and Russia—who were removed from the U.S. in February under an intensified deportation campaign launched during the Trump administration. Many of these families had fled violence and political instability, seeking asylum in the U.S. Instead, they found themselves in an unfamiliar country where they don’t speak the language, held in limbo with no clear path forward.

The migrants were sent to Costa Rica and Panama, countries intended as temporary holding points during the deportation process. However, what was supposed to be a brief stop has turned into a prolonged period of uncertainty. Over 50 days later, the families remain stuck, with no solution in sight.

Critics have expressed concern that this approach effectively outsources the U.S. deportation system, turning Central American countries into what some have called a “black hole” for migrants. In Costa Rica, around 200 individuals, including 81 children, were transported to a migrant processing facility near the Panama border. The center, set up in a former factory building, became their makeshift home.

On Thursday night, the Global Strategic Litigation Council (GSLC) and several other human rights organizations filed a formal lawsuit before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. The complaint accuses Costa Rica of violating international conventions protecting children.

Attorney Silvia Serna Roman, one of the lawyers leading the case, said the children have been kept in detention without legal documentation. They have had no access to education or mental health support in their native languages. Parents have reported their children feeling increasingly isolated and emotionally withdrawn.

“These children are at a key stage in their growth and are already escaping tough situations in their home countries,” Serna Roman explained. “Now, they’re stuck in long-term detention and facing harsh conditions. Their parents are worried and feeling helpless.”

She added that families have had minimal access to legal support. The Costa Rican government has offered them two options: either apply for asylum locally or return to their home countries. But many fear they would face persecution or homelessness if they left the facility.

The migrants are currently staying in a center known as CATEM. Although the conditions are far from ideal, it provides basic shelter and meals, which is why many are afraid to leave despite their freedom technically not being restricted.

“People are afraid to step out because they don’t know what awaits them,” Serna Roman said. “Inside, at least there’s food and a roof. Outside, they have no idea.”

Access to the facility has been heavily restricted. The Associated Press has repeatedly requested entry but has been denied. A prior visit by journalists in 2023 revealed grim conditions: families sleeping on cardboard, tents pitched on wet ground, and poor sanitation, including leaking portable toilets.

Costa Rica’s government has pushed back against some of the criticism. Officials disputed findings from the national Ombudsman’s Office that described the deportees as distressed and said proper care was not being provided.

President Rodrigo Chaves, speaking in February, framed the situation differently. He said that in accepting the migrants, Costa Rica was supporting its “economically powerful brother to the north”—a reference to the United States.

This lawsuit is one of several legal challenges raised by human rights advocates regarding deportations to Central America. The same legal group filed a separate complaint against Panama, where migrants were held in isolated areas and claimed they were denied access to communication. In response to public pressure, Panama eventually released many of them into the capital, where they’ve been left to survive on their own.

More recently, controversy has erupted over the deportation of Venezuelan migrants and even a U.S. citizen to El Salvador. These individuals were reportedly sent to a maximum-security prison for gang members, despite weak or no evidence linking them to gangs. The move has triggered intense legal and political backlash.

As the cases unfold, human rights organizations continue to press for greater accountability and protections for those caught in the middle of international deportation systems—especially the children whose futures now hang in the balance.

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