Trump administration deports elderly Irishman from US to Costa Rica

The Trump administration has deported an elderly Irishman to Costa Rica as part of a controversial agreement between the two countries.

The man arrived in the Central American country on Friday as part of a group of 22 deportees, according to The Irish Times.

Since Donald Trump returned to the US presidency last year, the country has dramatically stepped up deportations, including of Irish nationals.

Deportations of Irish people by US authorities increased from 15 in 2024 to 65 last year.

To speed up the process, Washington is increasingly sending deportees to countries where they have no connections. Shannon Airport in Co Clare is frequently used as a refuelling stop by aircraft involved in these operations.

According to Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners (DGME), the Irish man arrived in the country along with eight Brazilians, three Romanians, three Uzbets, two Chinese, two Azerbaijanis, one Indian, one Belarusian and one Vietnamese.

The DGME described the Irish man as “elderly” and said one of the Romanian deportees was a minor, The Irish Times reported.

The Irish man will be offered assistance to return to Ireland under a programme managed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), authorities said. He may also apply to remain in Costa Rica on humanitarian grounds.

It is the second group of foreign nationals to be deported to country by the US under a deal signed by Costa Rica’s president Rodrigo Chaves last month.