Chile's incoming government faces immediate pressure to tighten migration controls after a Cadem Plaza Pública poll found strong public support for tougher measures, including criminalizing irregular entry and mass expulsions. President-elect José Antonio Kast has toured the region and pledged to submit a bill within his first 90 days to reclassify irregular entry as a crime. Analysts caution that the administration lacks a congressional majority and must balance security objectives with legal protections for vulnerable migrants.
Tougher Migration Stance Tests Chile’s Incoming Government After Strong Public Backing
Incoming Chilean President José Antonio Kast conducted a tour of Central America and the Caribbean, meeting with the presidents of the Dominican Republic, Panama and El Salvador to discuss security and organized crime in the region. Photo by Olivier Hoslet/EPA
A new Plaza Pública survey by public opinion firm Cadem shows broad Chilean support for a stricter migration approach as president-elect José Antonio Kast prepares to take office in March. The poll underscores immediate political pressure on the incoming administration to deliver fast, visible action on irregular migration while balancing legal and humanitarian concerns.
Key poll findings: 79% of respondents said Chile should adopt a more restrictive migration policy; 74% backed laws imposing prison sentences for irregular entry; 81% supported expelling all irregular migrants; and 61% would support regularizing migrants who can prove they have formal employment.
Kast recently toured Central America and the Caribbean, meeting leaders from the Dominican Republic, Panama and El Salvador to discuss regional security and organized crime. During the trip he visited El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), a high-security prison promoted by President Nayib Bukele.
The president-elect has proposed several measures during his campaign and transition, including expelling irregular migrants, erecting physical barriers at unauthorized crossings, restricting remittance transfers, and opening a humanitarian corridor to allow migrants to depart voluntarily. He has also pledged to submit, within his first 90 days in office, a bill to reclassify irregular entry into Chile from an administrative offense to a criminal one.
“The migration issue was a central topic of the presidential campaign that has just ended and, therefore, it will also be a central issue for the government that begins in March,” said Republican Party lawmaker Stephan Schubert, an ally of the incoming coalition.
Right-wing Deputy-elect Fabián Ossandón called for a comprehensive migration overhaul focused on Chile's northern border regions. He outlined a package including technology- and intelligence-based border controls, effective expulsions, demanding regularization processes, and stronger regional coordination with neighboring governments.
But significant obstacles remain. The incoming coalition does not hold an absolute majority in Congress, meaning it must seek cross-party deals to pass deep legal changes. Migration specialist Byron Duhalde of the Center for Migration Studies at the University of Santiago warned that modifying migration categories will require an absolute congressional majority, which the governing parties currently lack.
Political analyst Guillermo Bustamante of the University of the Andes said Kast will need to build political bridges early to advance legislation. Observers note that while there is public appetite for tougher measures, meaningful and sustainable results will depend on crafting laws that improve border management and public order while protecting the rights of vulnerable migrants, many of whom flee political, social and economic crises in countries such as Venezuela.
Authorities face the dual challenge of responding to acute public concern about service pressures and insecurity while designing practical, rights-respecting policies that can win the legislative support needed for implementation.
Help us improve.
