The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is forcing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to transmit to Congress agreements reached with the governments of Costa Rica and Panama for accepting deported migrants, including asylum-seekers, vulnerable women and children.
In a letter sent last week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) invoked a 2023 federal law that the State Department must provide international agreements or nonbinding instruments that are the “subject of a written communication from the Chair or Ranking Member” of either the Senate Foreign Relations or House Foreign Affairs committees.
“This letter constitutes the statutorily required written communication,” Shaheen wrote.
She raised alarm over the approximately 500 third-country nationals deported to Central America since February — and many back to their countries of origin. Shaheen said dozens of those deported remain in vulnerable situations in Panama and Costa Rica, at risk of exploitation, statelessness and other harm.
“These individuals included Iranian Christians fleeing religious persecution, Afghan women escaping the Taliban’s ruthless crackdown and Russians facing political persecution for protesting Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Shaheen wrote of the initial migrants who were deported.
“While some chose to return to their countries of origin, dozens of deported migrants are still in Panama and Costa Rica with no clear path forward.”
The Trump administration has made cracking down on immigration a focus of the president’s second term, claiming to expel violent criminals and illegal migrants, but working to terminate the asylum process, canceling protected status for temporary residents and drumming up criminal allegations against legal visa holders.
After a visit by Rubio to Central America in late January, the U.S., Panama and Costa Rica announced expanded cooperation on migration, with the two Central American countries accepting hundreds of third-party nationals deported from the United States. Human rights groups warned of those countries becoming a “black hole” for deported migrants. Those facing deportation to their home countries told human rights groups they feared “serious risks to their lives or safety.”
In her letter to Rubio, Shaheen also called for information about what steps the administration has taken or is taking to ensure “that these individuals are not trafficked for sexual or labor exploitation, rendered stateless or sent to a country where they will be subjected to torture or other harm.”
“Human rights groups report that migrants who cannot return to their country of origin due to fear of persecution or death are now living in shelters in or near the city with limited support from charitable groups,” Shaheen wrote.
“This includes several young Afghan women who are without their families. Their legal status and future are uncertain; some who have sought asylum have already been denied. With limited money, little to no Spanish, and unclear legal status, many of these migrants, particularly women and children, are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.”
Shaheen cited that in Costa Rica, deported migrants, including 100 children, face similar challenges. In June, Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court ordered the government to release migrants deported from the U.S. and held in a temporary shelter since February, saying the government had violated the migrants rights.
“For those still in the country and unable to return home, their future remains uncertain,” Shaheen wrote.
“I look forward to your prompt response.”
Regarding the letter, the State Department told The Hill: “As a general practice, we do not comment on Congressional communications.”
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