1. Immigration to Costa Rica
Mary Murphy
Grad Student International Studies

2. Immigrants to Costa Rica
Latin America: Percentage of migrants by country,
Receiving country
Highest percent of immigrants in Latin America
9% of Population – 2012 census
Jus Soli – place of birth citizenship

3. Top 10 Countries of Origin

4. Colonial Immigrants European Immigrants Myth of an Uninhabited Land
Myth of Whiteness
Active recruitment of European settlers to populate the country – “desirable” immigrants because of perceived cultural similarities
Europeans settled in urban areas – worked in handicrafts and commence
Strong need for labor in agriculture - Nicaraguans, Jamaicans, and Panamanians – considered “necessary undesirables”

5. Historical Immigration Policies
Late 1800s early 1900s Costa Rica actively excluded Chinese, Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Africans
1920s agriculture boom and need for labor – increased migration from Central America and the Caribbean
1930s economic crisis and crackdown on undocumented immigrants - mass deportation of black laborers
1940s increased use of Nicaraguan workers in agriculture – increased discrimination and xenophobia
1950s post WWII resettlement of European immigrants
1970s/80s/90s refugees fleeing political and social violence

6. Nicaraguan Immigrants
1980s immigrants and refugees forced out of Nicaragua due to the Contra War
Estimated more than 500,000 migrants entered CR
CR provided refugee status, but cracked down on undocumented immigration
Barriers in housing, education, and health care and migrants live in run-down neighborhoods
Work in agriculture and are fundamental to the economic development of CR, more recently moving to urban centers
Source: Migration Policy Institute, Business as Usual? Regularizing Foreign Labor in Costa Rica

7. Distribution at the District Level of the Nicaraguan Population
Source: Migration Policy Institute, Business as Usual? Regularizing Foreign Labor in Costa Rica

8. Regional Migrants South-South migration
Costa Rica is economically, politically, and socially stable - draws economic migrants
Currently hosting migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala escaping violence

9. Amenity Migrants North-South Migration US, Canada, Europe, Australia
Tourists/Retirees – seeking amenities such as mild climate, intercultural experiences, inexpensive lifestyle, natural beauty
Permanent, seasonal, or circular
Significant source of direct foreign investment

10. Irregular Migrants South-South, South-North
Africans, Haitians, Asians, Cubans
More than 26,000 migrants in 2016
Bottlenecked in CR because Nicaragua closed border late 2015
Many trying to get to the United States
Living in refugee camps on Northern and Southern border WI
Source: Tico Times, Migrants from Africa, Asia and Haiti at a makeshift camp near the Peñas Blancas border crossing on July 12, 2016

11. Final Thoughts
Deeply embedded xenophobia and racism cause ethnic tensions
Policy shift towards integration instead of enforcement
Still a developing country, increased immigration may have a negative impacts economically, socially, and politically
Source: The Tico Times, A mural painted by Cuban migrants staying at a shelter in the town of La Cruz, Guanacaste, near the border with Nicaragua.

12. ¿Preguntas?