Migration and Crime Shape Chile’s Presidential Runoff as Border City Arica Grapples With Violence

Migration and Crime Drive Tensions Ahead of Chile's Runoff

As Chile prepares for the December 14 presidential runoff, migration and public security dominate the debate — particularly in the northern border city of Arica, where many residents say a sense of fear has replaced the calm they once knew. The vote pits leftist Jeannette Jara against far-right contender Jose Antonio Kast, who leads polls and has pledged broad expulsions of undocumented migrants if elected.

Arica: A City on Edge

Located on the Peruvian frontier, Arica is home to roughly 250,000 people and sits near one of Chile's busiest border crossings, where about 5,000 people — Chileans, Peruvians and Bolivians — pass daily. Since 2020 the city has also seen a sharp increase in migrants without documentation, mostly Venezuelans fleeing economic and political upheaval: official Migration Service figures put the number of people without papers at about 200 in 2018 and roughly 5,000 in 2023.

Crime, Gangs and Community Fear

Residents and local officials say the arrival of criminal groups has worsened public insecurity. Authorities blame the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua for a wave of kidnappings, extortion and violent attacks after members occupied abandoned houses in the Cerro Chuno neighborhood. "Before, you could go to the beach at night and walk home. Now, you can't," said Paloma Cortes, 27, who sells makeup. Security guard Alfonso Aguayo added: 'Contract killings, kidnappings — these were things that didn't exist.'

Arica's homicide rate rose from 5.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2019 to a peak of 17.5 in 2022, nearly three times the national average. After police dismantled the gang's leadership in 2022 — a raid that uncovered a torture site and human remains — courts sentenced 31 Venezuelans and three Chileans in March to a combined 560 years in prison. The homicide rate fell to 9.9 in 2023 but remains above the national average of 6.6.

Politics and Proposals

Security concerns have translated into political support for hardline measures. Right-wing candidates won roughly three-quarters of the vote in Arica in the first round. Economist Franco Parisi, who finished third nationally, led in the city with proposals to expel irregular migrants and even install anti-tank mines at the border. Kast has promised to deport about 337,000 undocumented migrants nationwide as part of his anti-crime plan and has proposed building a trench along the frontier.

Migrants' Role in Local Economy and Services

At the same time, many residents and officials emphasize migrants' contributions. Irregular migrants can enroll their children in public schools and access health care. They commonly work in the service sector, informal economy and as delivery drivers. 'Insecurity is not about immigration but about people's goodness or wickedness,' said retired teacher Fermin Burgos, who noted that a family member employs two undocumented Venezuelan waitresses. Venezuelan migrant Fernair Rondo, a liquor store clerk, said: 'When I arrived, there was cordiality. There wasn't this xenophobia. It used to be safer, but a few ruin it for everyone.'

Migrants also help fill health-care gaps: regulators report that 5.8% of doctors nationwide are foreign-born, and local health officials say domestic graduates alone cannot meet demand in remote or underserved areas like Arica.

Bottom line: The runoff will be shaped by competing narratives — a security crisis used to justify strict immigration policies, and a pragmatic recognition that migrants are key to local labor markets and health services.