President Biden will host President Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica on the White Home on Tuesday as their nations attempt to rein in a surge of migration within the Western Hemisphere.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Chaves, who was elected final 12 months, may also talk about financial ties and job creation, administration officers mentioned. They spoke on the situation of anonymity to preview the assembly.
The Biden administration’s plan to stem unlawful migration in the US entails 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 defense nearer to their dwelling nations.
Costa Rica just lately 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 stress on his nation’s asylum system as properly. Costa Rica, a well-liked vacationer vacation spot, has struggled to deal with the variety of migrants fleeing violence in Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Greater than 270,000 migrants had been in Costa Rica in search of safety by the tip of 2022, in response to the United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Refugees. Because 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 Could, which the Biden administration attributed to a brand new asylum rule that set a better bar for a migrant to be eligible to use for asylum in the US. Crossings, nonetheless, elevated to greater than 132,000 in July.
The White Home 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 enterprise, attended Mr. Biden’s Summit of the Americas, which was snubbed by different key nations within the area, together with Mexico.
However Mr. Chaves has additionally initiated assaults in opposition to journalists investigating accusations of sexual harassment and monetary misconduct, utilizing government powers to limit their shops of income. Throughout his marketing campaign final 12 months, he additionally tried to attenuate a World Financial institution investigation into sexual harassment allegations in opposition to him.
