President signs decree allowing Armed Forces to support efforts to curb human trafficking: “We are committed to putting our house in order, to better protecting our borders and to combating illegal immigration”

On Tuesday, President of Chile Sebastián Piñera signed a decree that authorizes the Armed Forces to participate in efforts to curb illicit trafficking of migrants and others in the northern part of the country.
 
Decree 265, which the President signed in 2019, will be modified to allow the Armed Forces to support border control in the areas of drug trafficking and organized crime. Starting now, their scope will be expanded, and they will be able to control trafficking of migrants and others through unauthorized border crossings in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá and Antofagasta.
 
The President announced the initiative at an event held on Tuesday at the 1st Infantry Regiment “Buin”. Its purpose is to allow the Armed Forces to collaborate with civil and police officials in the areas of logistics, transportation and technology in the country’s border areas.
 
Their work must be submitted to the policy oversight of the Interior Ministry in coordination with the Defense Ministry, meaning that the Armed Forces will be subject to civil authority at all times.
 
“The goal is to have open doors and to accept the legal immigration of those who come to Chile in accordance with our laws and to contribute to the development of our country. At the same time, we will combat illegal immigration by those who seek to come to our country without following our laws and without contributing to the development of Chile,” the President said at a ceremony at which he was accompanied by Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado and Defense Minister Baldo Prokurica as well as representatives of the security forces.
 
One expression of illegal entry is illicit trafficking of migrants and human trafficking, which occurs when third parties profit from encouraging or helping individuals to enter the country illegally. According to statistics provided by the Chilean police, the number of people charged with this crime, which President Piñera added to the Criminal Code during his first term, increased by over 25% between 2019 and 2020. Migrants who are the victims of these crimes are subjected to inhumane conditions and place their lives at risk in order to enter the country illegally.
 
The President presented a migration reform in 2018 in order to ensure the orderly, legal and safe entry of foreign nationals. The initiative seeks to welcome and provide fair and humane treatment to documented migrants, fight migrant trafficking and establish efficient and safe actions to limit illegal entry while keeping individuals with criminal records in their home countries from entering Chile.
 
The reform also creates a new institutional structure, establishing a Migratory Policy Council responsible for evaluating and proposing improvements to migratory policy on a regular basis so that it is clear and transparent. The Council also works on topics such as education, health, housing and labor.
 
“We are putting an end to disorganized migration in order to better protect our borders, put our house in order and have a migratory policy that favors regular immigration and combats illegal immigration in order to protect the safety and quality of life of all of our country’s inhabitants,” the President concluded.
 
Once the new law on migration is passed, the State will have new tools at its disposal for fighting illegal entry, facilitating administrative expulsion to discourage the use of unauthorized border crossings and create regional directorates. This will improve coordination with civil society, organizations, municipalities and regional governments in order to have a comprehensive perspective on migration.