Migration Collapse: Another Major Test for Boric

El Líbero, February 5, 2022

The next government must construct a response that assures those arriving in Chile legally that the state has the capacity to receive them, while also combating crime that seeks to establish itself in the country by exploiting migration.

While the violence in La Araucanía requires our full dedication and effort, the situation in the north remains urgent. Irregular migration is overwhelming Colchane. Three weeks ago, the mayor of that locality estimated that between 400 and 500 people were entering the country illegally each day. If we are conservative, we are talking about 400 daily entries, 2,800 weekly, 12,000 monthly, and 146,000 annually from a single border crossing. The Northern Macrozone has eight authorized crossings, but there are over 100 irregular places where one can cross on foot. The situation presents a problem that has a direct impact on the well-being and security of the population.

Thanks to technological advances in transportation and communications, the desert and the mountains are no longer obstacles; borders have transformed into meeting zones between those who transit through them and those who exploit their porosity as an opportunity for crime. Thus, organized crime and migrants coexist in an area where control is difficult and sometimes scarce. 

There are many reasons to migrate, and there is no issue with receiving those who wish to live in our country as long as their arrival is regulated and the state has the capacity to provide them with the basic goods for their development. The issue is another: the exploitation that Latin American organized crime makes of this problem to profit from migrants or to infiltrate among them to escape from settling scores or to export the business to other regions. 

At the beginning of the century, the U.S.–Mexico border was one of the most porous in the continent; today, the northern border of Chile closely competes with it. Localities near it report an increase in violence, an excess of migrants that has surpassed the state’s capacities, and an unprecedented irregular migration that has become the vehicle through which organized crime pursues its objectives. “They pass through like Pedro in his house,” said the mayor of Colchane. In his view, the lack of control over migration is reflected in the rise of crime. And while migration is not the cause of crime, it does constitute a channel through which it is displaced. 

Our country is facing phenomena that only occurred in the northern part of the continent a decade ago. The progress we have made over the last 30 years has built a country of opportunities for Chileans and foreigners alike. A country that we must protect and opportunities that we must promote. 

On March 11, new authorities will take office, and alongside terrorism in La Araucanía, they will have to address the migration phenomenon as a whole. On one hand, they must construct a response that assures those arriving legally that the state has the capacity to receive them, and on the other, combat the crime that seeks to establish itself in the country by exploiting migration. The transnational component of the phenomenon is undeniable, so the migration strategy cannot be separated from the issue of Latin American security. The Northern Macrozone is the other major test for Boric!

Pilar Lizana
Researcher, AthenaLab