Kast announces a regional humanitarian corridor to return illegal immigrants and restore border control and security in Chile
Chile’s president-elect, José Antonio Kast, announced this Monday one of the first and most forceful measures that will shape his upcoming government: the creation of a regional humanitarian corridor to facilitate the return of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin.
The announcement was made in Buenos Aires, following an official meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei, and represents a clear shift away from the lax migration policies applied in Chile over the past decade.
Kast justified the initiative by stating that Chile is facing an unprecedented migration crisis, with more than two million immigrants in the country and at least 300,000 of them in an irregular situation, according to official figures from the Chilean state itself.
In his view, the lack of border control and decisive action has led to social tensions, increased pressure on public services, and a clear deterioration of security in neighborhoods and cities where the state has lost its presence.
The president-elect explained that the humanitarian corridor is not intended to generate chaotic or improvised expulsions, but rather to organize the return process, coordinating it with countries of origin and transit.
The proposal aims to offer a clear pathway for those who are in the country illegally to return safely and, if they wish, to later apply for illegal immigration in accordance with the law.
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Chile is an open country, but it cannot be a country without rules,” Kast told the press.
The plan includes direct cooperation with governments across the region, especially those currently facing uncontrolled migratory flows. Kast noted that contacts already exist with authorities in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, and Central American countries.
The goal is to share information, logistics, and responsibilities under a central premise: migration must be legal, orderly, and compatible with national security.
Sources close to the president-elect emphasize that this measure is part of a broader plan to restore state control, which includes strengthening borders, providing greater support to security forces, and ending incentives that for years have encouraged illegal immigration.
Business sectors, mayors, and neighborhood associations have welcomed the announcement with relief, interpreting it as a sign that the new government will act decisively on a problem that successive administrations ignored.
As expected, organizations linked to the left and to migration activism have already voiced criticism, appealing to abstract concepts of rights without acknowledging the real consequences of migratory disorder.
Nevertheless, Kast’s message is unequivocal: without the rule of law there can be no integration, and without authority there can be no coexistence.
The new government appears determined to demonstrate that security, order, and public responsibility are non-negotiable.
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