The promise by President Donald Trump to expel all illegal immigrants seriously threatens a large part of the monthly remittances Costa Ricans send to their families.
There are about 42 thousand Costa Ricans with papers and permits in order to live in the United States. They can sleep peacefully. But how many illegal Costa Ricans are in danger of being deported at any time?
It is difficult to know for sure. But it is not difficult to estimate: approximately 150,000 Costa Ricans could be living and working illegally in the United States.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, until the end of 2016 there were just over 42 thousand citizens officially registered in the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in seven different cities in the United States.
But the Central Bank estimates that about 200,000 nationals on US soil send about $400 million a year in remittances to Costa Rica.
In 2010, the Costa Rican population that immigrated to the United States was 187,689 people, according to the “Socioeconomic Aspects of Family Remittances in Costa Rica” study, carried out by the Central Bank and included in the Migration report.
Moreover, a United States census of the same year showed an increase of 84.3% of Costa Ricans in that country. From 68,588 in 2000 to 126,418 in 2010.
The number of nationals departing to the United States every year is also rising. The previous year Migration registered 277,838 departures to that country. In the same period, only 270,367 returned, which makes a difference of about 7500 people who have not returned.
In recent years, the average deportation of Costa Ricans from the United States is between 250 and 300 people a year, according to Óscar Camacho, Chief Consular of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the two and a half months of 2017 there have already been 10 to 12 deportations of Costa Ricans.
But things could get much more complicated, as Trump has already launched the necessary actions to deport millions of illegal immigrants, with more immigration agents, more border judges, more money for immediate expulsions and the green-light for the border wall between Mexico and the United States.
So, how much money will Costa Rica lose on remittances? It will depend on the fate of the Costa Ricans who made the decision to live and work illegally in the United States.