Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast, leader of the Republican Party, stated this Wednesday (23) that, if he wins the November elections, he will begin a broad operation to repatriate illegal immigrants and reinforce border control. According to him, more than 330,000 foreigners live irregularly in Chile and must leave the country now.
“There are 133 days left for a new government to take office. This is the time that illegal immigrants have to leave and leave our homeland. If they do not do so voluntarily, we will go after them, and there will be punishments”, declared Kast at a press conference in Santiago.
The operation is part of the government program “Escudo Fronterizo”, which Kast described as a strategy of “order and sovereignty”. The plan envisages the use of planes to facilitate the voluntary return of foreigners.
“The first step is to appeal to the willingness of people who want to leave with their goods and resources. If they wish, they can collaborate with the ticket, along with the aircraft that we will make available”, stated the candidate during the presentation.
Kast also argued that firm immigration policies tend to generate what he called an “exit effect”.
“A clear example is the United States. The detention of 500,000 people caused 1.5 million to leave the country voluntarily,” he said. The former deputy, who is seeking the presidency for the third time – after losing to Gabriel Boric in 2021 -, has focused his campaign on security issues and the fight against crime, currently among the biggest concerns of Chilean voters.
The Republican also informed that he intends to build shelter centers to house immigrants who cannot be deported due to a lack of cooperation from their countries of origin.
“These people will remain in these centers until the government of their country sends a plane to take them back,” he explained.
According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), Chile is home to 1.6 million foreigners, equivalent to 8% of the national population. Venezuelans, Peruvians and Colombians form the largest groups, and the number of immigrants has doubled since 2017.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for November 16 in Chile, and polls indicate that no candidate is expected to win in the first round. Kast appears among the favorites for the second round, scheduled for December 14, alongside former Labor Minister Jeannette Jara, candidate for the Communist Party.
