Billionaire Chilean President Sebastian Pinera’s right-wing government said Monday it has set itself a target of expelling 2,000 illegal migrants from the country by the end of the year.
The measure is part of a migration plan that the world’s largest copper producer introduced to cope with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants over the last four years.
The expulsions will prioritize foreigners with criminal records, as well as those who did not take up a government offer to regularize their situation.
Earlier this year, Chile eased visa requirements for Venezuelans fleeing a political crisis while tightening rules for Haitians.
Over the past four years, Chile has become one of Latin America’s top destinations for migrants, unveiling figures earlier this year that pointed to more than a million foreigners in the country, almost double the previous estimates.
Around 300,000 of that number are thought to be living illegally in the country.
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