Immigration Reform Bill on Track
by Rod Hughes
And immigration reform bill to speed up the torturous process of getting residency apparently is on a fast track in the Legislative Assembly, thanks to a multi-party accord.
Sponsored by Security Minister Fernando Berrocal and Immigration Director Mario Zamora, the bill would erase the currrent legislation that went into effect only last September but which President Oscar Arias refused to implement fully, pointing to its potential for human rights abuse and increased red tape as fatal defects.
Zamora, whose dynamic attempts to unsnarl the notoriously complex procedures and corruption at Immigration have earned him admiration of many—and a stiff reprimand from the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court—has called the current law “unworkable.”
Although it only submitted the bill to congress 10 days ago, the Arias Administration hopes to put the bill on top priority in August for the extraordinary congressional session where the Executive Branch as more say about what gets first treatment.
The bill has the full approval of the leaders of two of the biggest voting blocs in congress, Citizen Action Party floor leader Elizabeth Fonseca and Libertarians Mario Nunez and Jose Manuel Echandi. One would assume that it can count on the majority of votes from the President’s own National Liberation Party.
Zamora’s efforts to wrestle with the incredible snakepit at Immigration have earned him plaudits but also a few lumps so far, the worst administered by the court, which censured him for blocking the granting of residency visas obtained by the clearly bogus—but legal—marriage to Costa Rican women. Most of the women were poor and were offered a bribe to marry foreign men they had never met, even after the marriage.
But Immigration needs more than just a procedural overhaul. Zamora needs to revamp the computerized registry, among other changes. He says he has already talked with the Ministry of Finance for the extra funds to administer the reform.