Government decides to expel 53 foreigners detained in the social crisis

“Dispose of the country in 15 days.” This phrase is already printed in 34 decrees of expulsion of foreigners, those who were arrested committing crimes during the social crisis, after October 18, 2019. However, the process will not end with these trades, as the government decided to remove more than 50 immigrants from the country who would have participated in illegal acts during the protests.

This procedure, which is carried out by the undersecretary of the Interior, Juan Francisco Galli, has already contemplated the abandonment of 53 people, where 34 decrees have already been signed, 12 are pending in the cabinet and seven jobs are in the Department of Immigration and Migration (DEM).

Most of the expulsions have to do with defendants who were arrested amid looting. 68% of those who were already notified of the exit process were arrested by the police amid robberies in supermarkets and commercial stores.

Undersecretary Galli explained to Third that “this is part of what we have promoted as a policy from the Ministry of the Interior. Chile is a country open to migration and welcomes without problems those who want to come to live in our country, however, that also has a responsibility, adjusting to our laws and regulations, and more especially in the midst of the disorders that have occurred ‘post October 18 ‘, which was when the country most needed peace of mind in public order ”.

Galli added that “We have been blunt and we will continue to be: all foreigners who participate in looting, attack the police forces and commit crimes in an irregular migration situation, will be expelled from our country. In addition, today in an instance of pandemic and health crisis, more than ever people are required to comply with the provisions to comply with public order ”. The authority specified that all the deportees are people who, in addition, were in an unregulated immigration situation.

In that sense, the numbers of those expelled could also continue to increase, since there are criminal proceedings that are still in force, therefore, once concluded, other foreigners involved in crimes could also be deported from the country.

In any case, Galli himself warned, these numbers “are not a relevant percentage”, when compared with the total number of detainees during the social crisis. According to figures from the Carabineros, between October and December 19,125 people were arrested for crimes associated with public order and looting.

Within the individuals notified of their expulsion highlights the case of the Venezuelan Wladimir Aguilar Gastelo, who left the country in February this year, after he was recorded on November 15 unloading a truck with a trailer full of stones, which were left in the middle of a protest in Plaza Italia .

Regarding the nationalities of those expelled already notified, there are 12 Peruvians, six Venezuelans, six Colombians, four Ecuadorians, three Dominicans, one Bolivian and one Haitian.

For José Tomás Vicuña, national director of the Jesuit Migrant Service, “the State has the right to expel if they transgress the regulations and there is a due process of trial that dictates expulsion. It is a mechanism that has been carried out for decades ”.

The government warns that these expulsion processes will continue to be applied in the event that similar criminal acts are repeated.