A second group of migrants deported from the United States arrived in Costa Rica on Tuesday, completing the 200 foreign nationals the Costa Rican government agreed to receive.

The Eastern Air Express American Airlines flight landed at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), in Alajuela Province, at 3:45 p.m. with 65 passengers on board. The group included 16 children accompanied by 14 adults, as well as 35 men.

The migrants are from various countries, including Russia, Yemen, Nepal, India, China, Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Georgia among others.

Upon arrival, authorities transported them to the Temporary Migrant Care Center (Catem) in Corredores, Puntarenas Province, where they will remain until their extradition process to their home countries is completed.

The first group of 135 migrants, including at least 50 children, arrived last week on a flight operated by Alaska Airlines. The U.S. government is funding the flights.

 

Following Tuesday’s arrival, Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration reported that its director, Omer Badilla, has requested a new date to appear before the Congressional Human Rights Commission. His scheduled testimony, which was set to address the treatment of deported migrants in Costa Rica, coincided with the flight’s arrival.

Earlier this week, Costa Rican Ombudsman Angie Cruickshank Lambert identified several shortcomings in caring for the first group of deportees.

Costa Rica is the third Central American country to accept deportees from the United States, following similar agreements reached with Panama and Guatemala during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent Latin American tour.

In early February, Rubio addressed key regional issues during his visit to Costa Rica, including international aid, migration, drug trafficking, cybercrime, and China’s growing regional influence.

The United States has an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants, most of whom are from Latin America.

On his first day in office, former U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and vowed to deport "millions and millions" of migrants.