Chile’s José Antonio Kast Begins Mass Deportation Flights of Illegal Migrants

Chilean conservative President José Antonio Kast announced that Chile will begin deportation flights of illegal migrants on Thursday.

Kast made the announcement during his first nationwide broadcast on Wednesday night in which he outlined the main priorities of his administration following his first month in office. Kast, who won a nationwide sweeping victory in December’s presidential runoff election, successfully ran a campaign that called for the mass deportation of illegal migrants and cracking down on growing violent crime in Chile among its topmost promises.

Throughout his Wednesday address, the Chilean president said that his administration “inherited a country with more than 300,000 undocumented foreigners,” noting some of them were part of “organized crime networks that brought levels of violence to Chile that we Chileans had never experienced before.” He recounted that one of the first decrees he signed after he took office in March was the implementation of the “Border Shield” illegal migrant crackdown plan that, among other security policies, included the closure of Chile’s northern border and the construction of a border wall and the the excavation of trenches along the border.

“The results are tangible. In the first month of our administration, there were significantly fewer irregular entries than in the past five years, a higher number of voluntary departures, and a higher number of foreigners expelled from the country,” Kast said, and announced, “First thing tomorrow morning, the first of many flights and buses will take off, continuously removing all those irregular immigrants who should not remain in our country.”

The outlet Biobio reported that 40 individuals will be deported on Thursday — 19 Colombians, 12 Bolivians, and nine Ecuadorian nationals — alongside one member of Chile’s Investigations Police (PDI) on the flight per deportee. Throughout the flight, the deportees will be handcuffed with disposable plastic restraints and kept under strict surveillance. PDI officers will wear tactical gear designated for this type of procedure. The plane will reportedly depart from the capital city of Santiago de Chile towards the city of Iquique before heading to Bolivia, Ecuador, and lastly arriving in Colombia throughout the day.

Information gathered by Biobio indicates the 40 deportees collectively faced a litany of criminal charges such as illegal entry into the country, receiving stolen motor vehicles, drug trafficking, robbery with violence, minor injuries or threats, property damage or minor injuries, illegal possession of a weapon and ammunition, illegal residence and minor injuries, robbery with intimidation, burglary, and robbery by surprise.

The Chilean government reportedly clarified that the flight is only the first of its nature and that the frequency of deportation flights will ramp up in the coming weeks.

In late March, during the first weeks of his administration, Kast halted a mass regularization plan that the preceding administration of far-left President Gabriel Boric had initiated that, had it been completed, would had benefitted about 182,000 illegal migrants in Chile with legal residence status. Frank Sauerbaum, Director of Chile’s National Migration Service, detailed at the time that the Chilean government had knowledge that at least 6,000 of the prospective 182,000 beneficiaries had committed a crime in Chile.

President Kast also announced during his address that he will soon submit to Congress a bill on “national reconstruction and economic and social development,” a series of reforms aimed at “reviving’ Chile’s economy, boosting employment, streamlining permitting processes, and advancing the reconstruction of areas affected by fires in recent months.

Kast detailed that, upon taking office, his administration identified three crises that Chile is presently facing, a security crisis that threatens families and their freedom, an economic crisis that is stifling job growth, and a social crisis in areas such as education, health care, and housing.

“We want more jobs, greater economic and social progress, and greater security so that Chileans can regain hope,” Kast said.

On the current state of Chile’s economy, Kast explained that the Chilean economy only grew at an an average of just two percent annually for the past 12 years, noting that “public debt grew unchecked for nearly 20 years, rising from $7.6 billion in 2006 to more than $155 billion today” and that Chile is presently spending five percent of its national budget on interest alone.

“We’re not saying this to blame anyone,” Kast said. “We’re saying this so that Chileans understand why this government needs to act urgently.”

“We didn’t come here to repeat the cycle of the past; we came to break it. We’re going to put an end to stagnation and structural unemployment,” he continued. “We’re going to put an end to a government that spends more than it has; to the bureaucracy that paralyzes and stifles investment. We’re going to break with everything that’s wrong, so we can rebuild everything that’s right.”

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.