Chile's New Right-Wing Government Scraps Plan to Legalize Undocumented Immigrants

Santiago. Chile's new right-wing government announced on Monday that it is canceling the plan to grant legal status to tens of thousands of immigrants who entered the country irregularly.

President Gabriel Boric's previous leftist government had committed to granting legal status to 182,000 people who had applied for legal residency.

The new government of José Antonio Kast, which campaigned on a promise to tighten immigration controls, will not implement this order, according to the immigration service.

“We will not proceed with the mass granting of residency documents as proposed by the Boric government,” said Frank Sauerbaum, director of the immigration service.

Kast ordered the construction of new barriers on the border with Peru earlier this month. Kast had promised to increase ‘border surveillance’ and tighten entry to stop immigrants coming from Peru and Bolivia.

Kast also committed to taking steps to stop the rise in murders, kidnappings, and extortion. He stated that the increase in incidents such as murder, kidnapping, and extortion is one of the factors due to allowing undocumented immigrants to enter.

The election of right-wing President Kast marks the return of an ultra-nationalist leader to Chile, following the military control under Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990 in Chile's history.

According to government estimates, approximately 337,000 foreign nationals residing in Chile do not have documents for residency permits.