The needs of the immigrant population and the resources of the Costa Rican Costa Rican State

Abstract

The issue of migration and, specifically, that of the Nicaraguan immigrant population in Costa Rica, occupies a relevant place in the country's public agenda. The General Law of Migration and Foreigners (No. 8764) explicitly states: "Migration matters are declared of public interest for the development of the country, its institutions and public safety" (Art. 2). This important matter is the subject of the following article. Statistical information shows that immigration as a whole represents about 7% of the total inhabitants of Costa Rica. It also shows that the living conditions of Nicaraguan immigrants are worse than those of the national population and that the main reason for this immigration is the search to improve these conditions. Nicaraguan immigrants contribute to Costa Rica's national development and, in that context, they also have demands to improve their condition. This article conducts a search (not very frequent in research on the subject) on the relationship between these demands and the response of the Costa Rican state in terms of resources and services. In making this comparison, it can be seen that there are satisfactory aspects in terms of the protection of the human rights of Nicaraguan immigrants (for example, the guarantee of basic civil rights, such as freedom of movement, assembly, etc.), while there are others where the State's response is weak or fragmented (dependence of services on migratory status, differentiated security, especially in the case of women, etc.). Among the conclusions drawn from the analysis, the following stand out: a) the demands and needs are met at the level of regulations or public policy statements, but this is not effectively fulfilled, especially in the labor field; b) there is an acute problem of misinformation among the Nicaraguan immigrant population about their rights and the services that the Costa Rican State makes available to them. This is why it would be a very important issue to improve the information channels and tools between the immigrant population and the institutions of the host country.