Attempts to stop that migration by tightening up the border at longtime crossing points in California and Texas have forced prospective migrants to take more dangerous routes through the Arizona and New Mexico deserts. Costa Rica and Nicaragua hope to establish orderly, seasonal migration. But those who watch migration up close give the pact little chance of stopping the flow of workers without papers. And illegal traffic will keep traveling along the uncontrollable eastern rivers. This situation is not going to be resolved.
Migrants leave Nicaragua because there is no work.
Further, while many Nicaraguans go to Costa Rica with the intention of working only a few months, they become accustomed to the prosperity and want to prolong their stay, which a legal permit would not allow. We cannot sustain the migratory influx from Nicaragua. It's like putting your hands across a waterfall. The water still flows through your fingers. Researcher Auriana Koutnik in San Jose, Costa Rica, contributed to this report.