The number of Nicaraguans requesting asylum and migrating to Costa Rica shows a considerable decrease since September.

June and July this year registered the highest numbers of refugee requests, however, according to Raquel Vargas, director of the General Directorate of Migration, the number of requests received in September was only of a 50% in comparison to the month of August, “During the month of August a total of close to 9000 requests were processed, while in September that number went down to close to 4500. There is also another phenomenon, that is that many applicants have asked that their request is filed, or have desisted from it, returning to their country”, commented Vargas in an interview with Monumental news.

Difficulties finding employment and the high cost of living they find in Costa Rica in comparison to Nicaragua also influence this change, while others came to the country only for a few months while the situation in Nicaragua calmed down.

The Migration Police of San Carlos also informed that during the month of September the operations carried out with the assistance of the Public Police Force which included patrolling of the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border, allowed the interception of 51 illegal immigrants, among them Nicaraguans, Chinese and Filipino citizens, also, two minors that were traveling alone, these cases were addressed by the Costa Rican Children Welfare Agency (PANI).