Undeserving and Undesirable: Representing New Migrants and Refugees in Costa Rican Media

Abstract

Since 2014, Costa Rica has faced a ‘migration crisis’ tied to the arrival of new asylum seekers from El Salvador, Venezuela and Colombia and transit migrants from Africa, Haiti and Cuba. This article examines representations of these groups through a qualitative analysis of newspaper coverage (2011–2017). Representations of these groups build on existing threat narratives to position transit migrants and asylum seekers as inherently dangerous, undeserving of public concern, and a drain on Costa Rican hospitality. These framings reinforce social and political boundaries and justify the exclusion of migrants and refugees from public resources.