The Immigration Service of Chile’s new conservative government announced this Monday (30) that it will suspend a policy implemented by the previous administration, led by leftist Gabriel Boric, to regularize 182,000 foreigners who are in an illegal situation in the country.
To AFP, the director of the department informed that at least six thousand of those listed in the registration process have criminal records. “We are not going to promote mass regularization as proposed by the Boric government,” said Frank Sauerbaum.
Since the campaign, President José Antonio Kast has promised to establish a stricter policy regarding migration. One of the promises was the expulsion of almost 337 thousand irregular migrants, the majority of them Venezuelan, who are currently in Chile.
One of the initiatives that the new government is already implementing in this regard is the construction of a wall on the border with Peru, part of the Border Shield Plan to contain illegal immigration.
The director of the Immigration Service stated in an interview with the Chilean television program The Thirdthis weekend, that authorities are considering carrying out inspections at companies suspected of employing workers without regularized documents in the country. According to him, the new strategy – which is reminiscent of the Donald Trump government’s migration operations – will be preventive and aims to discourage irregular hiring for greater State control over security.
