President José Antonio Kast signed two bills on Sunday at the Chacalluta Border Complex to extend detention of irregular migrants and penalize their internal transfers.
Kast traveled to Arica to inspect progress on the Plan Escudo Fronterizo. The president announced a constitutional reform raising administrative detention for irregular migrants who committed minor crimes from 5 to 60 days, renewable twice for 60 additional days each. The second bill amends the Penal Code to penalize facilitation of illegal exits and create the crime of internal migrant trafficking for profit. Penalties increase if the victim's life or integrity is endangered or if the victim is a minor. Biminister Louis de Grange reported that interventions along the northern border now total nearly 30 kilometers, including over 10 kilometers in Chacalluta and Colchane. The government's self-imposed deadline for this target expires Tuesday, June 9.
