During her visit, Secretary Noem is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves-Robles and tour immigration facilities, including the Centro de Aprehensión Temporal para Extranjeros en Condición Irregular (CATECI), a migrant detention center located in the province of Heredia. She will also meet with personnel from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Joint Security Program.

The U.S. Embassy in San José said Noem’s trip highlights bilateral cooperation on border security, counter-narcotics operations, and efforts to combat illegal immigration.

In February, Costa Rica agreed to host 200 migrants deported from the United States.

In March, a delegation of U.S. Congress members and senior government officials visited Costa Rica for a diplomatic mission aimed at strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, security and technology.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Melinda Hildebrand, a Houston-based businesswoman and philanthropist, as the next U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica. However, no information has been released regarding hearings on her nomination before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Costa Rica is one of several stops on her itinerary, which also includes Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Earlier Tuesday, Secretary Noem was in Panama, where she met with President José Raúl Mulino. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), she observed a repatriation flight carrying migrants deported from Panama and Colombia.

“The deportees included individuals convicted of drug trafficking, sex crimes, and aggravated robbery,” DHS said in the statement, adding that the repatriation program provides “significant cost savings for U.S. taxpayers,” as deportations from Panama cost approximately half as much as those conducted directly from the United States.

While in Panama, Secretary Noem signed an extension to a memorandum of understanding originally established on July 1, 2024, between the U.S. and Panamanian governments. The renewed agreement includes an additional $7 million in U.S. funding to support Panama’s deportation flights and broader efforts to disrupt irregular migration throughout the region,  including migration flows moving southward from the U.S.

Between August 2024 and June 2025, more than 2,000 migrants without legal grounds to remain in Panama were deported to 23 countries, DHS reported.

“This partnership underscores the importance of working with our allies to prevent violent criminal illegal aliens from entering the United States,” the department added.

According to DHS, the joint efforts have contributed to a dramatic reduction in illegal migration through the Darién Gap,  the dangerous jungle corridor between Colombia and Panama commonly used by migrants attempting to reach the U.S. southern border. “Under President Trump, migration through Panama’s Darién Gap is down 99%,” DHS noted.

Following her stop in Costa Rica, Secretary Noem will continue to Honduras on Wednesday, where she is expected to meet with President Xiomara Castro and visit the Soto Cano Air Base to review immigration repatriation efforts.

Her regional tour will conclude Thursday with a visit to Guatemala, where she will meet with President Bernardo Arévalo to assess ongoing DHS programs operating in the country.