The border between Peru and Chili is experiencing one of its most critical moments in recent months. In the early hours of today, Friday, November 28, dozens of migrants wait in the area of the La Concordia line, trying to receive attention from Migrations in the border complex of Santa Rosa, in Tacna. The migratory flow increased after the announcement of the Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast, who warned that, if he won the elections, he would promote the expulsion of foreigners in an irregular situation.
Kast’s visit to the border itself a few days ago and his public statement there generated an immediate effect on the foreign population. Many began to leave Chile and sought to cross the border to other destinations, mainly countries of origin. “I’m waiting to see if they let me pass because I’m just passing through, because I’m from Ecuador,” he told Good Morning Peru one of the citizens waiting for the opening of border control. She, like many others, seeks to regularize her situation before leaving Chilean territory, even after having entered Peru irregularly.
Today there is a scene of people waiting since early morning in front of the complex. The majority are women, children and families seeking to regularize their immigration status, hoping to cross into Peru and continue the journey to their countries of origin. The attention of Migrations in Tacna it only starts at 08:00, which has generated discomfort among migrants who spend the night outdoors.
“There are people since last night, crying, dying of hunger, waiting here all night,” a pregnant foreigner tells Good Morning Peruwho denounces the lack of minimum conditions to wait for care. “I’m peeing myself and I can’t urinate. Children crying from hunger. Women, everything.” The atmosphere is one of fatigue and despair due to the lack of access to basic services and uncertainty about the immediate future.
“What we want is to return to our country. We are not going to stay in any Peru,” emphasizes another citizen, making it clear that for the majority the Tacna border is just an obligatory passage on the way to their homes.
Before him increasing migratory flow and pressure on checkpointsboth the Peruvian government as the police authorities of Tacna They have responded by tightening security. Since yesterday, the National Police has constantly patrolled the border milestones, numbers three to seven, in the La Concordia line sector and in the Santa Rosa complex. General Valverde, police chief in the region, confirmed the increase in personnel and vehicle units in the area to guard the crossing.
According to the general himself, “the issue of security has been reinforced twice,” due to fear of a migration overflow. In parallel, Peruvian President José Jerí announced the imminent declaration of state of emergency in bordering areas, an extraordinary measure that will allow the additional deployment of armed forces to support the control and verification of documents along more than 100 kilometers of border.
The trigger for this new migratory episode was the fear generated by the promise of the Chilean candidate José Antonio Kast of toughen immigration policy and promote mass expulsions. After recording a video on the border itself and suggesting the construction of walls, dozens of foreigners, especially from Ecuador and Venezuela, began to leave Chile through the Tacna passes.
Peruvian authorities, mainly in the border district of Yarada los Palos, have taken note of the phenomenon. However, both the Regional Government and the Municipality of Tacna have so far avoided issuing official statements about the crisis and possible coordinated actions to address the flow of people.
The massive displacement, which already adds hundreds of migrants waiting in precarious conditionsconfirms the immediate impact of political statements and reveals the vulnerability of those, persecuted by uncertainty, seeking to return to their countries through one of the most guarded border crossings in South America.
High temperatures, lack of access to services and uncertainty mark the pulse of a day in which the Tacna border became a symbol of the regional migration crisis.
