A new Costa Rican law aimed at deporting thousands of illegal immigrants, mainly Nicaraguans, took effect on Saturday, but the new government is trying to kill it, according to Reuters. President Oscar Arias, who took power in May after the law was passed, has said it is draconian and wants to find another solution to the Central American nation's immigration problem. The controversial law empowers police to track down illegal immigrants in the workplace or in private homes, and increases fines for companies that hire them. It has caused friction with Nicaragua, which complains its citizens are often victims of discrimination in Costa Rica. Arias' government sent a bill to Congress to delay the law until changes could be made. It failed to push it through in time, but hopes lawmakers will soon overturn the law. "The expectation is that next week the Legislative Assembly will take action," Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal said. "Until then, we don't have the funds to enforce it." Costa Rica is Central America's most stable and prosperous country and has long attracted migrants from neighboring countries. Around 150,000 Nicaraguans and thousands of Panamanians work illegally in agriculture and construction and as domestic workers. They receive social security benefits, including health care and education, even if they and their employers do not paying corresponding taxes. An estimated 45,000 children of illegal Nicaraguan immigrants are in Costa Rican public schools. That generated resentment among many Costa Ricans, and the immigration law was pushed through by former President Abel Pacheco. Critics say it went too far, however. Business leaders and human rights groups say immigrants are key to the economy. "We agree immigrants' situation should be normalized so employers pay for benefits, but this law couldn't be enforced," said Ronald Peters, president of the Costa Rican Coffee Growers Chamber. "It's a very mobile workforce. One day they're at one farm, the next day at another. They don't have fixed employers." Nicaragua has complained to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission over the deaths of two Nicaraguans in Costa Rica in which xenophobia may have played a role. The new law has stirred fear among Nicaraguan migrants. "People think that children born here in Costa Rica will be taken from their parents," said Inez Ruiz, 40, a Nicaraguan who works legally as a waitress.
