Chilean soldiers monitor the border to protect and control the irregular entry of migrants into the municipality of Colchane, in the Tarapacá region.Alex Díaz (EFE)
The arrival of undocumented immigrants in northern Chile fell by 54.5% in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2022. The sharp drop is largely due to the ordered deployment of armed forces by the government of Chile Gabriel Boric in three regions of the country’s so-called northern macro-zone, bordering Bolivia and Peru. The measure, approved by Congress, went into effect a month ago to help control and public order amid the irregular migration and security crisis taking place at the main gate for undocumented foreigners into the South American country.
Venezuelans, who made up 80% of arrivals in the first quarter of last year, now make up just 36%. The rest are of Bolivian nationality. “These are objective data that can support the results of the forces on the northern border,” Undersecretary of Interior Manuel Monsalve reported this week from Iquique, the capital of the Tarapacá region, where three-quarters of revenue is concentrated undocumented immigrants.
The average weekly income, which was determined irregularly in the first few months of last year, was 967 people. “What is the reality of this year? On March 19, the average was 440 people, 55% less than the irregular income on the country’s northern border,” Monsalve said. As a parallel measure to the military operation, the undersecretary announced the establishment of three executive branch working groups: economic development, social investment and security issues. Each group will visit the area monthly to discuss initiatives with local authorities.
The figures resonate well with the broad political spectrum, but the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM) urges caution. “Past experience and that of other countries has shown that incomes can migrate to other, more dangerous areas,” says Waleska Ureta, director of the foundation, “with the possible intervention of so-called coyotes, people who take advantage of the vulnerability of migrants and migrants they violate.” the immigration law. The impetus of SJM is that every restrictive measure taken by the state is accompanied by others aimed at allowing regular entry through clear and efficient channels.
The diversion of irregular aliens has also changed: a year ago only 10% were returned to their country of origin. According to the Carabineros and the Armed Forces, the figure is now 59%. At the XXVIII. At the 4th edition of the Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, held last week, President Boric called on the other leaders present to “be able to work together between countries of origin, transit and destination”.
During a recent Presidential visit to Colchane, a small border town with Bolivia which now has more undocumented foreigners than residents, the President assured that he had ordered the new Foreign Minister, Alberto van Klaveren, in particular to step up talks with countries neighboring with Bolivia, with which diplomatic relations have been severed since 1978. “They do not carry out rerouting of Venezuelan and Colombian citizens who enter through the Colchane border and are not received at the place where they enter and we have to solve that, Boric claimed.
Bolivian Vice-Chancellor Freddy Mamani replied emphatically: “There is no bilateral agreement, agreement or instrument that generates this obligation.” A resolution last April, signed by Chile’s current national migration director, Luis Eduardo Thayer, stipulated that “only Bolivian nationals” would be subjected to the diversion procedure at the border crossing with Bolivia.
The military deployment waiver in the northern macro-zone is valid for 90 days with an option to extend. The special forces agents can perform three functions: identity checks, baggage control if there is any element pointing to the commission of a criminal offense and arrest of persons who are referred to the police if they enter the country undocumented or there is an illegal act to commit.
The areas where the military is based are nationally focused on the increase in crimes related to human, arms and drug trafficking. In the case of Tarapacá, it is also the place in Chile with the highest rate of homicides linked to organized crime.