In little more than a month, Costa Rica has spent more than US $2 million caring for stranded Cubans

December 28^th, 2015 (ICR News) The Costa Rican government has spent more than US $2 million to care for the thousands of Cuban migrants who have been left stranded in the country since Nicaragua closed its border to the migrants on November 15^th, according to the National Emergency Commission (CNE).

The government, through the child welfare agency known as PANI, even purchased Christmas gifts for some 200 migrant children who are stranded in the country along with their Cuban parents.

And despite its key role in providing humanitarian relief and health care, the government figure does not even include some US $350,000 in costs that have been covered by the Costa Rican Red Cross, as the Red Cross is a non-governmental organization.

Some 6,000 to 8,000 Cuban migrants, whose intent is to reach the United States, are now estimated to be stranded in the country.

Cuban nationals receive preferential immigration status upon setting foot in the United States under the Cuban Adjustment Act, commonly known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy.

However, warming relations between the United States and Cuba have led to fears on the island that the policy may come to an end, sparking an unprecedented wave of Cuban migration that hasn’t been seen in decades.