U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 2004 - Nicaragua
| Publisher | United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants |
| Publication Date | 25 May 2004 |
| Cite as | United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 2004 - Nicaragua , 25 May 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/40b4594210.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
About 4,900 Nicaraguans were seeking refuge abroad in 2003, including 2,600 in Costa Rica, 1,200 in the United States, 480 in Guatemala, and 250 in Panama. Nicaragua hosted about 300 refugees, including 290 Salvadorans, and naturalized 24 Salvadorans. Nicaragua received 27 asylum applications, but it did not conduct any refugee status determinations during the year.
The number of Nicaraguan asylum seekers in the United States dropped because the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA) permitted many to receive permanent residence. The U.S. Committee for Refugees concluded they had a durable solution.
Nicaragua lacks a law formally establishing a refugee status determination process and this year the ad hoc process did not function. Undocumented asylum seekers are supposed to be sanctioned for the offense of lacking documentation. However, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has an arrangement whereby the authorities typically released asylum seekers to a non-profit that worked with UNHCR.
