New Immigration Law Goes Into Effect This Week, Though Impossible To Enforce
Saturday is the day that the new immigration law passed last year during the Pacheco administration (2002-2006)  takes effect. On August 12 is to radically change immigration policy in the country, but few, if any, foreigners will notice any difference.

The reason is that current administration has asked for a postponement of the law, but, for some unknown reason waited until the last minute to send the notice to the Legislature and with not time for the legislators to move on it before the due date.

What this will mean, in effect, is that the law will come into force but with no one to respect it.

The General Law of Immigration (in English), was years in the making. It was first proposed in February 2001 by the Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) administration and finally approved in October 2005.

The new law was not published in the official government publication, La Gaceta, until December, with the provision that it would come into effect 8 months later, allowing time for the immigration department to make the required changes.

The Arias administration said early in taking office that it would extend the start of the new law until December 2007, but sat on the laurels until the end of last month when it sent the request, along with a number of other proposals, to the Legislative Assembly.

Asked why the wait, no one in the government could provide an explanation.

The bill was an update of the 1986 immigration codes which would give immigration police more greater powers to find and deport illegal immigrants.

In a nutshell, the law penalizes the hiring of foreigners without a working permit. The fines range from ¢300.000 to ¢1.8000.000 colones. Fines can also be levied against those individuals or companies that provide shelter to illegals.

"It's impossible for the administration to put the law into practice", were the words of Fernando Berrocal, Ministro de Seguridad Pública, who oversees the immigration service.

According to Berrocal and confirmed by Immigration Director, Mario Zamora, there is no money in the budget to hire the additional immigration police officers, along with equipment, including vehicles, and the construction of detention centres to hold illegals.

Zamora said that his department would need a force of 600 immigration police officers to enforce the new law, some 565 in addition to the existing force of 35 officials.

Zamora added that the previous administration did not leave the necessary allocation of funds to beef up the immigration service and enforce the new law.

The immigration service is between "a rock and a hard place", according to the director, comparing the new law to the law that made university attendance mandatory, but not taking into account that the universities don't have the capacity for so many students.

What the new law becomes, in reality, a law that is on the books and not being able to be enforced.

The new law is aimed principally at Nicaraguan workers who cross the border and then live and work in Costa Rica illegally. Critics of the law say that Costa Rica has to accept the reality that illegal Nicaraguan workers fill an economic need.

The construction and agricultural sectors depend on the illegal workers, as Nicaraguan labourers come to Costa Rica to perform jobs that Costa Ricans aren't willing.

The domestic service sector (maids) is another area where no one benefits from mass deportations.  An estimated 150.000 Nicaraguans work illegally in Costa Rica.

The Arias administration has said publicly that there should be legislation that regulates immigration. however, it does not agree with all the aspects, however, it has been slow to make the changes.

One person who is in favour of the new law and wants to see it adhere to is José Manuel Echandi, former Ombudsman and now head of the Partido Union Nacional (PUN).

Echandi says that the law was passed in the Legislature and it is now not acceptable that the Executive Branch does not put into effect, especially with the excuse that it doesn't have the money.

The July 27 notice presented by the Executive Branch (government) and published in La Gaceta allows a commission to be formed, headed by Rodrigo Arias, to discuss the changes. However, that doesn't mean that it will not come into effect this week.

It is clearly impossible for the government request to push back the start date to be approved in the five days of session left before August 12.

The law will come into effect on Saturday, but, there is little chance that any or all of the law will be in force any time soon.