[News] The "reality show" of the Government: Jesuit Service to Migrants and Chile 21 criticize the media point of the Interior press to expel foreigners

[FNX Magokiler]

This Friday, the Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado, headed a press point where he reported that 143 foreigners were expelled from the country for committing a crime, adding that for future expulsions, they will contract, through a tender, 15 charter flights. This, according to the new president of the board of directors of the Jesuit Migrant Service, Macarena Rodríguez, is something common that is done because the law is followed. For this reason, this press point worries her because it "prejudices people", since the Executive transmits "a message of associating migration with criminality." For Eduardo Vergara, executive director of Chile 21, "there is no government, there are press guidelines, and the Executive has made the decision to mount a true reality show at the expense of the immigration drama."

"They are people who came to Chile to commit crimes." That was one of the phrases that the Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado, issued this Friday, after informing that 143 foreigners convicted of a crime were expelled from Chile, by air and land.

Within the information, Delgado also added that for future expulsions, they will contract, through a tender, 15 charter flights. According to the Secretary of State, this will make the procedure "more efficient", because the planes of the FACh are not always available. This tender will be financed with a fund "that is fed by fines for migrants who arrive in Chile."

 

 

All this -expulsion and charter- Delgado announced it through a media point of press, an instance that was criticized by various voices, who questioned this communicational "show". Especially because this Thursday the Migration Law was approved in Congress that, precisely, will sanction those who enter the country irregularly, which is completely different from the activity carried out this Friday by the Government, according to the member of the board of the Jesuit Service to Migrants (SJM), Macarena Rodríguez.

"It seems to us that it is absolutely disproportionate to make a press point or make a news item with topics of this nature. There is nothing extraordinary in what is being done, it is the execution of a norm," he said, in conversation with El Mostrador.

"We are struck by the fact that this is news. The authority makes an explanation that what it is doing is applying the law in criminal matters, not in immigration matters. It is the law on criminal benefits that establishes the possibility of commute a sentence for judicial expulsion. That's perfect, that's how it is, "he explained.

What worries Rodríguez is the message delivered by the Government, which indirectly associates migrants with crime: "There are 160 people, the minister speaks of 1,500 people who are going to be expelled this year. If we look at the The total migrant po[CENSORED]tion in our country, which is one and a half million, is less than 0.01% incidence. "

"That worries us because finally what you are transmitting is a message of associating migration with crime. Why don't we make a press point on any other issue where the impact could be greater, such as public policies, in integration measures or in the execution of criminal sanctions in other matters? There are countless situations that could have a much greater impact and more relevant, "he added, ratifying that" with this you transmit a message of associating or criminalizing migration, which is not the case. incidence rate is much lower than the national po[CENSORED]tion even. Therefore, we also do not see a reason or rationale for publicity of the measure ".

"Ultimately you are prejudicing people. That does not help in integration, that does not help in valuing the diversity and richness that the migrant po[CENSORED]tion means for our country, but it leaves behind the feeling that it seems that migrants commit crimes I do not know if that person actually came to commit a crime or not. I am not sure of the fraud in that person, "he closed.

"Populist heavy hand"
This criticism is shared by the Executive Director of Chile 21, Eduardo Vergara. “The government continues to make politics through press guidelines and a populist heavy hand to get applause from its hard-core bases. Although this news is attractive to the media, it is done at the cost of continuing to deteriorate the institutions and above all by humiliating human beings at the cost of installing a show, "he assured El Mostrador.

"There is no government, there are press guidelines, and the Executive has made the decision to mount a true reality show at the expense of the immigration drama. It is one thing to enforce the law and expulsions when appropriate, quite another to mount a true circus in moments where greater humanity is required ", he added.

The outgoing chairman of the board of the SJM, José Tomás Vicuña, added, through his Twitter account, that "in Chile there are about 1.5 million migrants. They work, they make an effort, they are friends and friends of Chilean people. Make a point of press for the expulsion of a few, tenders as headlines. Then they wonder why migration is linked to crime ".