Court Gives Immigration Chief a Slap
By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff | kstanley@ti…
Immigration Director Mario Zamora, who has been praised for his efforts to root out corruption and reorganize the troubled Immigration Administration, was “personally condemned” in a ruling yesterday by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) following several suits by rejected visa applicants.
Judicial Branch spokesman Fabián Barrantes said the court found Zamora did not have adequate grounds for rejecting the applications.
“For many of the people who’ve turned to the Sala IV (regarding Immigration), it’s because he ( Zamora ) denied them a visa,” Barrantes said late yesterday afternoon. “The Sala condemned him because of a lack of grounds.”
Because the Sala IV doesn’t apply sentences, the ruling constitutes an “abstract condemnation,” Barrantes explained; however, if the parties involved file suit in an administrative contention court, it’s possible Zamora could eventually have to pay damages, he said.
According to a statement from the Sala IV, one reason for the decision is that the court has found in favor of those filing suit on multiple occasions, without corrective action by Immigration.
“In multiple cases, the Sala has had to restate the fundamental rights of Costa Ricans and foreigners because… the administration of Immigration has not corrected the constitutional errors in previous sentences,” the statement read.