According to a statement from the Migration Service sent to AFP, the left-wing government of Gabriel Boric had adopted a decree providing for the regularization of 182,000 people who had participated in a census process of migrants who entered the country irregularly. The text had not yet come into effect.
“We will not proceed with a massive regularization as proposed by the Boric government,” said the director of the Migration Service, Frank Sauerbaum.
The authority added that “fortunately,” the decree “was not implemented because we learned today that 6,000 out of the 182,000 people had already committed a crime.”
Five days after taking office, President Kast visited the Arica region, on the border with Peru, to oversee the construction of barriers to prevent the entry of migrants into the three northern regions of the country. He set a deadline of 90 days for their completion.
The government also announced an increase in the number of military personnel deployed to the borders, as well as a strengthening of their surveillance capabilities, including drones, cameras, and specialized equipment.
– “A lot of uncertainty” –
The government also plans to submit two bills to Parliament aimed at curbing migration, one of which would penalize people who help migrants enter Chile irregularly and the other would make illegal entry into the territory a crime.
“All this situation generates a lot of uncertainty,” said 30-year-old Venezuelan Freymar Marquez. “If they refuse regularization to these registered persons, what about those who are not registered?” she wonders.
José Antonio Kast told the press on Monday that in recent years, “Chile has been weakened by illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and organized crime.”
According to official data, nearly 337,000 migrants in irregular situations live in Chile, mainly Venezuelans. José Antonio Kast has promised to promote their expulsion.
However, he ruled out mass arrests. “We do not want to conduct a manhunt place by place. But everyone knows that they will have to face the state at some point,” he assured the local press in March.
Irregular entries have been decreasing since 2021, with a 10.2% drop in 2025, according to official figures.
Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America with a homicide rate in 2025 of 5.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.
