President Laura Fernández –and her so-called “continuity of change”– marked her first month leading the country on June 8. Ever since her victory and inauguration speeches, and continuing through her weekly Wednesday press conferences, the president has maintained a highly confrontational tone toward political checks and balances, including lawmakers and leaders from other branches of government.
This approach matches her early promise when she took power. She pledged a “new Costa Rica” focused on a strong stance toward immigration and security. Part of this strategy came together when she presented six security bills to the Legislative Assembly.
The president has explained that the “iron-fist” strategy is a plan to use the full power of the State to fight insecurity. The main focus is on stronger border surveillance, more police operations, better prison security, and tougher sentences.
However, these proposals have sparked debate about whether tougher penalties and stricter controls can really solve the problem, or if broader, long-term solutions are better. With public opinion split, people are discussing what this means for migration, police presence, and prison sentences.
The Impact of the “Iron-Fist” Approach to Immigration
The president says strict border surveillance is needed. She believes that the arrival of foreign nationals affects national security and public services.
President Fernández stated in his inauguration speech, “I have given precise instructions to tighten border controls. He who comes to contribute is welcome; he who comes to commit crimes or to abuse our welfare system will find a firm State that will not hesitate to apply the law and deportation,” expressed President Fernández during her inauguration speech.
However, behind that message—conditioned on the foreigner being accepted only if they fulfill an immediate economic function or strict requirements—experts warn that the narrative strategy has direct consequences for society.
Koen Voorend, a researcher at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), says that linking immigration to crime and abuse can spark xenophobia. The government’s stance aims to create order but risks fueling negative feelings.
Voorend says the government creates an “us versus them” mindset. Claiming that foreigners overwhelm services or create insecurity stirs negative feelings about immigrants. This narrative ignores the country’s different economic reality.
Adriana Martínez, a Costa Rican lawyer focused on migration, believes immigration is vital for the national economy. The country depends on these flows to boost key areas like agriculture, construction, and services.
Our economy, particularly in sectors such as export agriculture and construction, relies significantly on migrant labor,” she says, emphasizing the importance of this demographic.
Martínez warns that the new “iron-fist” policies fit a regional trend. This pattern is seen in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. Here, national security talks lead to police border control, stricter residency rules, and tough expulsion processes.
For experts, the main issue with this shielding is that it overlooks how the local market depends on other factors. By tightening controls inflexibly, the government leaves agricultural producers and real estate developers short-handed, creating a labor shortage crisis in the economic activities that sustain the country.
Historically, communities in border cantons have viewed foreigners positively, even with municipal support. A clear example of this is the canton of La Cruz, located in Guanacaste. Because it is a border zone, this place has a significant presence of migrants, especially from Nicaragua.
Mónica Hurtado, an advisor on migration issues in La Cruz, highlights the local impact of these policies. She says, “The iron-fist policy creates fear among migrants. They hide and avoid work because they fear detention or deportation. This affects local producers who lack labor for the harvests.”
The Role of the Police in the “Iron-Fist”
For the “iron-fist” approach to succeed, the government needs the police to show greater strength on the streets. During her first month in office, President Laura Fernández expressed her full support for the authorities in a straightforward manner.
I publicly commit to work side by side with all of you, to be a president ready to defend you when needed, and to give my life alongside yours in a national security crisis,” Fernández told police forces.
Building on this support, according to data shared by analyst Percy Guzmán, the Ministry of Public Security received a strong injection of more than 20 billion colones into its budget to finance more than 1,000 new officer positions on the streets and the purchase of patrol cars, motorcycles, bulletproof vests, and specialized weaponry.
However, experts clarify that flooding neighborhoods with police and weapons fails to address the underlying issues and offers no real solution.
Sociologist Guillermo Navarro argues the strategy ignores the roots of violence: “Police presence by itself will not resolve the deeper issues of social exclusion in these cantons.”
If the State enters vulnerable communities relying only on force and punishment, it risks heightening street tensions and stigmatizing youth from the poorest neighborhoods.
Prisons and justice under the “iron- fist”
A key part of the new government’s strategy is what happens after police arrest suspects: the justice system and prisons. Since her inauguration speech, President Laura Fernández has stressed the need for strong punishments to reduce violence. She has criticized garantista approaches and signed decrees to increase prison sentences.
Her main idea is to build a maximum-security “mega-prison.” This facility will hold thousands of organized crime members. It will isolate gang leaders so they can’t run their operations from within.
“The country is held hostage by criminal gangs, and we cannot continue facing assault rifles with laws made for another era,” stated the president when demanding that the Legislative Assembly immediately advance the initiatives.
The plan to tackle insecurity with large prisons and stricter laws raises major concerns for experts and important institutions. Percy Guzmán, a researcher at CIEP-UCR, warns that a mega-prison is mainly a costly response aimed at placating public opinion. He points out that it doesn’t tackle key issues in the justice system. These include delays in court, old legal frameworks, and few rehabilitation programs. This failure weakens the system’s ability to reduce crime.
“The mere idea of building such a facility with the greatest security generates many doubts in the country. Concerns exist about the ‘Bukele effect.” There are also questions about prisons holding over 40,000 people, especially in a different context. The researcher explains that we are already experiencing overcrowding in some prisons that exceeds 140%, which creates significant challenges for the management, rehabilitation, and reintegration of inmates.
Adding to these challenges, the Judiciary and the Ombudsperson’s Office (Defensoría de los Habitantes, in Spanish) issue frequent warnings that the country is already grappling with a historic prison overcrowding crisis and emphasize that further expansion without systemic reform risks worsening human rights issues and institutional strain.
The real test for President Laura Fernández’s “iron-fist” strategy will be whether it achieves lasting peace in Costa Rica. While promises of total control and severe punishments may find public favor, analysts contend that true security demands deeper reforms rather than just popular measures or temporary solutions.
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