Costa Rica tightens overwhelmed asylum system
By JAVIER CORDOBA
Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Faced with an overwhelmed asylum system, Costa Rica, one of the world’s great refuges for those fleeing persecution, is tightening its generous policies. President Rodrigo Chaves, who took office in May, said Costa Rica’s system is being abused by economic migrants. Despite having only 5 million citizens, Costa Rica trailed only the United States, Germany and Mexico in the number of asylum applications it received last year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Chaves first warned of the changes last month during a sudden influx of Venezuelan migrants stranded by a change in United States border policy. But it is Nicaraguans who account for nearly nine out of 10 of the applicants.
