Changes To Immigration Laws Announced
The Consejo de Gobierno (cabinet) announced yesterday that it has finished the reforms to the Ley de Migración de Costa Rica (immigration laws) that will place more controls on the illegal immigration toCosta Rica while still respecting human rights.

The government's plan is to stop human trafficking by placing penalties of up to 16 years in prison for those involved.

The proposal differentiates "trata de personas" (trafficking) from the "coyotage", the helping of people  of illegallu crossing the borders at Nicaragua and Panama into Costa Rica.

Trafficking, according to the proposal, is the business of bringing people to Costa Rica and then subjecting them to slavery,.

Last week such a case was uncovered where a number of Orientals were brought to Costa Rica , illegally entereing with falsified documents and then subjected to slave labour.

Mario Zamora, director of Migración, said that the proposed reforms will enable his department to face head on the business of human trafficking, a problem that is affecting Costa Rican society.

The immigration director added that the reform would also impose a voluntary rate on illegals, to be paid to the immigration service, for social security. The rate though paid to Migración  would go to the coffers of the Contraloría General de la República (Comptroller's office).

Another change being proposed in the reform is "contracted marriages" - marriages between Costa Ricans and foreigners.

The immigration service in its attempt to curb "marriages of conveniences", where a foreigner marries a Costa Rican national for the sole purpose of obtaining residency, under the reform, will impose that a foreigner married to a Costa Rican has to prove that the couple are living together and must do so for a minimum of three years.

Zamora said that more details would be made available once the reform makes it to the Legislature for discussion and approval.