Migration Policy and Development in Chile

Abstract

Current and prospective migration law and policy in Chile does not adequately incorporate the causes, content, and consequences of international migration to and from Chile. We describe and examine migration in‐flows, out‐flows, migration‐related policies, and how those policies drive, and are driven by, notions of development in Chile. We explore contradictions in Chilean nascent migration policy currently under legislative review. We argue that it is imperative that migration, migration policy, and their relationship to development be discussed inclusively and transparently and be explicitly incorporated into the Chilean government's nascent migration and development legal policies and frameworks.

Self-Selection and Host Country Context in the Economic Assimilation of Political Refugees in the United States, Sweden, and Israel

“…Both political and socioeconomic opportunities served as pull factors when settling in European or North American countries (Sznajder and Roniger 2009). Most of the emigrants from Chile moved to the pre-military-regime Argentina, and significant numbers also arrived in the United States, Sweden, Canada, and Australia (Pellegrino 2002; Doña Reveco and Mullan 2014). Most emigrants from Argentina immigrated to Mexico and Venezuela, but some also moved to Italy, Spain, France, and Sweden (Sznajder and Roniger 2009).…”

Securitization (Re)Turn: Analysis of the New Brazilian Migration Laws (2016-2019)

“…This scenario is common in South America, and in the Chilean case, for example, Reveco and Mullan (2014) also identify national security as a theme apparent in new legislative propositions. As stated by Acosta Arcarazo and Freier (2015, 659), migration policies in South America live a paradox of officially welcoming undocumented migrants but covertly rejecting these same migrants.…”

The Second Generation in Chile: Negotiating Identities, Rights, and Public Policy

“…Transnational migration in Chile has, in only the past decade, grown more diverse, visible, and in unprecedented rates and numbers, thus provoking national debates and policy changes in recent years (see Tolosa, ). Chile began transitioning in the 1990s from a country of migrant origin (such as political exiles), to a migrant‐destination country, due partly to its transition to a high‐income country, alongside a reputation and status as the most politically and economically stable country in the region, with relatively weak migration regulations (Reveco and Mullan, ). In 2014, there were approximately 411,000 foreign persons in the country, or 2.3 per cent of the total population (Rojas and Silva, : 10) .…”