In February 2024, Donald Trump’s administration sent 200 asylum seekers to Costa Rica, including 81 children. They were from 20 countries in Asia and Africa. These people had tried to seek refuge at the US-Mexico border but were quickly deported after Trump shut down the US asylum system. Alexander, a Russian man who fled political danger, his wife, and son are among those still in Costa Rica, struggling after being locked up for two months. Alexander said, “They threw us out like baggage.” The Costa Rican government promised safety but held them in poor conditions, as Human Rights Watch called "reprehensible." Costa Rica’s supreme court ruled last June that holding the migrants violated their rights and ordered compensation, but none has been given yet. Legal groups have sued the Costa Rican government over this. Alexander and his family now have temporary humanitarian permits and live near Monteverde. Alexander said, “Don’t forget, they deported us illegally. They threw us out like baggage to a country with a language we don’t speak. And no one was held accountable for this.” US lawmakers criticized the Trump administration’s third-country deportations as illegal. Costa Rica had agreed to receive migrants under pressure from the US. Meanwhile, many deportees’ whereabouts are unknown, and only a few remain in Costa Rica seeking justice.