Snap Judgment: "The Pencil Factory" (Dec 18, 2025)

Overview

This episode of Snap Judgment, titled "The Pencil Factory," centers on the story of 200 asylum seekers—including a Russian family—unexpectedly deported from the U.S. to Costa Rica, where they are detained in an abandoned pencil factory-turned-migrant shelter. Through the eyes of Costa Rican tech entrepreneur and YouTuber Jose Callazo (Kaya), the episode unpacks their journey, the personal and political complexities of forced migration, and one family's fight to hold onto hope in limbo.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Mysterious Arrival at the "Pencil Factory" (KATEM)

• [02:11–07:00]
  Kaya recounts hearing news about flights from the U.S. landing in Costa Rica, carrying around 200 deportees who are bused to KATEM—a former pencil factory, now a migrant processing center in a remote, hot part of the country.
  • Initial confusion about who the migrants are. The local press wonders: "Are they criminals as it's been claimed? Are they illegal immigrants? Are they Costa Ricans? Well, we figured out no, they are not Costa Ricans. They're mostly from Asian countries, China, Turkey, Afghanistan." [B, 02:31]
  • Description of KATEM: "It's this pencil factory or used to be a pencil factory. It was actually owned by Fabo Castell...donated...to be used as a shelter for migrants on their way north." [B, 03:19]
  • Kaya and his team approach the facility using a “PRESS” sign, quickly drawing out wary detainees, some of whom are hiding their faces and request: “No cameras.” [B, 06:55]

2. Meeting German: A Russian Asylum Seeker’s Ordeal

• [08:13–16:23]
  Kaya meets German, a tall Russian man who explains their family’s journey:
  • They tried for political asylum in the U.S., but were summarily deported to Costa Rica under the new Trump administration policy suspending all asylum requests in January 2025:
    • “A supervisor...asked us why we came here. I told her we came here to ask about political asylum. She told we've got new president. We don't give political asylum anymore.” [C, 13:54]
  • Conditions in U.S. detention were dire: “We are shocked about how they treated us. And thankfully, we are still alive.” [C, 15:11]
  • They were expelled overnight: “They told us, you are going to Costa Rica. You want it or you don't want it? They lied to us.” [C, 15:55]
  • The political reality: "Costa Rica is such a small country. Our economy is so dependent on the US for exports and for tourism...I don't think we had any choice but to comply or risk some form of political retaliation from the U.S." [B, 16:49]

3. Inside KATEM: Detention and Connection

• [18:21–21:13]
  Kaya maintains contact with German via text and video.
  • The family shares a tiny, windowless room with two other families.
    • “It’s me, sorry for being naked because it's too hot here...So this is the place where we live and it's a bit messy here right now. I'm gonna clean this place.” [C, 23:29]

4. German’s Backstory: Why They Fled

• [26:30–28:45]
  • German describes being a poll worker in Russia and filming ballot fraud for Putin as a form of “revenge,” intending to send the video to Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation.
    • “I knew how they fraud on the elections. And I wanted to reveal was my little revenge.” [C, 27:31]
  • He was caught, escaped security, and fled with his family to avoid imprisonment or being sent to fight in Ukraine: “You will be imprisoned or you will go to the war.” [C, 28:26]
  • Eva’s loyalty becomes central: “She asked me...what we gonna do, not what you gonna do, but what we gonna do...She's a real...she's my real wife. I don't know how to express you this. She's a real w.” [C, 29:04]

5. Release and Uncertain Futures

• [30:20–35:38]
  • In early May, the Costa Rican government ends the detentions. Kaya picks up German and his family, who are now free but have nowhere to go.
  • German dreams of asylum in Canada, Australia, or the U.K.: "This is the dream, number one. Okay, let's call it a dream because...I know language." [C, 32:14]
  • Staying in Costa Rica is initially dismissed: “We know nothing about this country. We don't know language, we don't know culture.” [C, 33:47]
  • Plan H: Sending his wife and son back to Russia while he remains—an agonizing potential split: “Maybe I can't return to my country. 100 by my family can. So maybe it's better for my family that they can return and I will stay here.” [C, 34:17]

6. Family at a Breaking Point

• [37:00–38:21]
  • Months in, German is pushed to his limit: “Hi guys. I just had a panic attack here right now because I hate this place. I can't be here anymore. My wife lays down the whole day and I just was at medic because I couldn't breathe.” [C, 37:00]
  • Kaya realizes the family could break apart: “It would just break me to have to separate myself from my family. It would break me even more if it's my fault and you know, all for one mistake or for one, you know, attempt at doing the right thing. I guess I can't, I can't imagine it.” [B, 35:38]

7. A New Start? Life Beyond KATEM

• [39:09–45:58]
  • Kaya tries to show the family a better side of the country, bringing them to San José: “Would you change your mind maybe if you saw that? Costa Rica is much more than this little glimpse of a very remote area...” [B, 39:09]
  • Eva starts to consider Costa Rica after learning about support available: “I could see it in Eva's eyes, this idea of a life in Costa Rica was starting to settle in her mind.” [B, 42:19]
  • The Quaker community in Monteverde offers temporary housing and support to several families:
    • “They're teaching them Spanish. They have pottery lessons, yoga. Today in the morning, we had high intensity interval training classes.” [B/C, 45:17–45:22]
  • German slowly adjusts to rural Costa Rica, as community contact and routines begin to restore hope.
    • "We visited our neighbors, we spoke with them. Yes, most of them are old people, but I missed this communication there." [C, 44:45]
    • The episode closes on a hopeful note: “This is my son.” [C, 45:58] (German’s son rides a pony in Monteverde; German laughs for the first time since their ordeal began.)

8. The Broader Picture

• [46:34–End]
  • Many other deported families remain in limbo or return to the U.S. border trying again for asylum; some are sent back to detention.
  • The U.S. government does not respond to requests for comment from the show about these deportations.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “They told us, you are going to Costa Rica. You want it or you don't want it? They lied to us.”
  — German [C, 15:55]

• “We are shocked about how they treated us. And thankfully, we are still alive.”
  — German [C, 15:11]

• "Immigrant is equal to criminal right now in the people's mind because that is image they create...I never thought that I will be this faceless immigrant too."
  — German [C, 33:33]

• “Maybe I can't return to my country. 100 by my family can. So maybe it's better for my family that they can return and I will stay here. But this is, you know, this is not Plan A, this is Plan H.”
  — German [C, 34:17]

• “Hi guys. I just had a panic attack here right now because I hate this place. I can't be here anymore. My wife lays down the whole day and I just was at medic because I couldn't breathe. I can't see these rusty walls. I can't stand this climate anymore. This is awful. I don't know what to do.”
  — German [C, 37:00]

• “My mother is telling her about the laws in Costa Rica and she's explaining that the kids has health insurance covered by the government, even if they need.”
  — Kaya [B, 42:18]

• “We visited our neighbors, we spoke with them...I've got a plan how to live here right now.”
  — German [C, 44:45]

• "This is my son."
  — German [C, 45:58]
  A moment of rare happiness as German witnesses his child finding joy again.

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:11–07:00] Kaya’s first exploration of KATEM and discovery of the “pencil factory” context
• [08:13–16:23] German shares his family’s ordeal fleeing Russia, failed asylum bid, and deportation
• [26:30–28:45] German details his political activism and the danger they faced in Russia
• [30:20–35:38] Family’s release, discussion of future options, emotional strains
• [37:00–38:21] Breaking point: panic, family disintegration fears
• [39:09–42:53] Kaya’s efforts to show a different Costa Rica, family reevaluation
• [43:02–45:58] Transition to Monteverde, finding community, tentative new hope
• [46:34–end] Broader context, status of other migrants, U.S. silence

Tone and Style

The episode maintains Snap Judgment’s signature blend of cinematic, immersive narration, candid first-person audio, and a musical undercurrent that dramatizes the stakes. Kaya’s voice is reflective, empathetic, and vulnerable. German’s testimony is raw, sometimes broken yet resilient.

Conclusion

"The Pencil Factory" paints an intimate, deeply human portrait of one family's struggle to survive a geopolitical crackdown. It highlights not only the pain of displacement but also the slow, often uncertain process of making meaning and rebuilding after every system has failed you—except the unexpected kindnesses of strangers.

For listeners seeking insight into the lived realities behind headlines about U.S. immigration policy, and the ripple effects on small countries, this episode is essential and deeply affecting.