Costa Rican immigration officers and border police in just two days sent 1,700 undocumented migrants back to their native Nicaragua, the daily La Nación reported.

According to a separate report in newswire AFP, some 60,000 Nicaraguan residents of Costa Rica had crossed the border legally to spend the holidays in their homeland. Costa Rican police boosted their presence at the Nicaraguan border in anticipation of the massive return, and discovered many migrants attempting to bring undocumented friends and family members along with them, police said.

On Thursday and Friday, police detained hundreds of people who managed to enter the country illegally, have slipped through borders at Peñas Blancas, Guanacaste, in Costa Rica's northwestern corner, and Upala and Los Chiles, in the northern province of Alajuela.

In one of the operations Friday afternoon, police brought 52 undocumented Nicaraguan migrants by boat from Sarapiquí, a north-central canton, to Los Chiles (see photo), according to the Public Security Ministry.

“The Nicaraguans were led astray by the same ‘ coyotes' (human smugglers) to whom the foreigners had paid a sum of ¢5,000 for bringing them to Costa Rican territory,” read a statement by the ministry.

Police later found the smugglers after hearing the would-be immigrants' stories of entering clandestinely.

Return to Costa Rica continued through last night, coinciding with the many Ticos traveling back from holiday vacations in time to start work again today.

The police operations occurred at a time when tensions are mounting over Costa Rica's migrants from its northern neighbor. The arrests also came fresh on the heels of an accord signed by Nicaraguan and Costa Rican officials that would allow tens of thousands of guest workers to enter Costa Rica legally to help replenish flagging work forces in agriculture and construction.

Fernando Berrocal, the Costa Rican public security minister, was compelled to defend the arrests amid questions as to whether deporting manpower was in his country's best interest.

“We are grateful for the contributions to Costa Rican development from our brothers and sisters of the neighboring nation to the north,” Berrocal told La Nación. “But all those who wish to come here to work should do so obeying the law.”

-Tico Times