Immigration Bill Advances in Congress

A bill to reform the country’s immigrationlaw moved forward Tuesday whenPatriotic Bloc congressman HumbertoArce withdrew 40 reform motions he hadpresented. This allowed members of theCommission on Government andAdministration to advance the bill.“I withdrew them (the motions)because after comparing them with thetext I don’t have big changes, and withsome of the others we have reached anagreement,” Arce said in a statement.More than a dozen motions presentedby other legislators were processed andapproved.The proposed law has been criticizedby members of the Association ofResidents of Costa Rica (ARCR), who sayit would make residency status unattainablefor foreigners who don’t receive a largepension or who are unwilling to investlarge amounts in the country (TT, June 11).