“After almost two years they finally understood that we are experiencing a serious security crisis” – La Discusión 2024-04-12 12:23:38

The deputies for Ñuble, Cristóbal Martínez and Marta Bravo, appreciated that the Government decided to accept – after almost two years – a proposal that they presented together with the UDI Bench in July 2022, so that all foreigners convicted of micro-trafficking or trafficking of drugs (Law 20,000) were immediately expelled from the country, not only as a way to decongest the prisons, but also to prevent them from continuing to commit crimes from prisons.

Although both parliamentarians described the Executive’s reaction as “absolutely late,” they highlighted that “after almost two years they finally understood that we are experiencing a serious security crisis, with very negative consequences for our country,” which is why they committed to support the initiative so that it is dispatched by Congress as soon as possible.

“Although it took almost two years to collect our proposal, we greatly appreciate that the Government decided to expel all foreigners who are convicted under the drug law. Today we are not only experiencing a complex security scenario, but we also have a deep crisis in the prison system, associated precisely with the entry of migrants who arrived in Chile with the sole purpose of committing crimes. Therefore, it was absolutely pertinent to advance a measure of this nature,” the legislators maintained.

The representatives of District 19 recalled that – on average – the State disburses monthly between $900,000 and one million pesos for each inmate, so that a mass expulsion would significantly reduce spending. Likewise, they indicated that between 2016 and 2020 alone, the number of foreigners charged with a crime in the country increased by 355%, which is why they assured that “today, much more than ever, it is justified that they be expelled as soon as possible.” ”.

In any case, Martínez and Bravo called on the Government to “expand” the catalog of crimes for which they will expel irregular foreigners, also including those convicted of robbery and theft. Likewise, they requested urgency in another project that they presented at the same time, and that seeks to replace the penalties for simple crimes with immediate expulsion from the national territory.

All of the above – the legislators argued for Ñuble -, with the purpose of “confronting, once and for all, the serious security crisis that keeps Chileans completely afraid.”

“What we now need is for the Government to not be content simply with expelling foreigners convicted by Law 20,000, but also to include those who have participated in crimes such as robbery or robbery, because we cannot afford to continue keeping them in our country. The security crisis we are experiencing must be at the top of citizen priorities, and we hope that the current authorities have understood this,” Martínez and Bravo reaffirmed.