'A big crisis'

"On November 28, with just weeks remaining until the run-off in Chile's presidential election, far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast issued a warning. "To the irregular immigrants in Chile," he said, "I tell you that 103 days remain for you to leave our country voluntarily." Kast ultimately won the election and is expected to be sworn in on March 11. But so far, in the highlands of Chile's most northerly region, the immigrant exodus that some expected has not occurred."

"We have a big crisis in the area. The immigration situation is now much worse, said Andrea Chellew, a 62-year-old highland resident and former Senate candidate for the left-leaning Partido Humanista party. Arica y Parinacota has long been a focal point for Chile's immigration concerns. A tip of land wedged between Peru, Bolivia and the Pacific Ocean, the region is often used as an entry point for migrants and asylum seekers crossing irregularly into Chile from the north."

"The area has also seen an uptick in organised crime, a central issue in Kast's election. He and other candidates visited the region multiple times to campaign. As Kast prepares to take office, residents are divided on whether his iron-fisted approach to immigration will alleviate the pressures the region is facing or further deepen divides. Andrea Chellew lives in the Altiplano highlands of Parinacota, where she sees new migration routes forming across the border with Bolivia"

On November 28, with weeks before the run-off, Jose Antonio Kast warned irregular immigrants to leave Chile within 103 days. Kast won the election and is expected to be sworn in on March 11. In the highlands of Arica y Parinacota the anticipated immigrant exodus has not occurred; some residents report increased arrivals ahead of the inauguration. Andrea Chellew described a worsening immigration situation and a big crisis in the area. Arica y Parinacota serves as an entry point for migrants and asylum seekers crossing from Peru and Bolivia. The area has seen an uptick in organised crime, intensifying resident divisions over Kast's immigration plans.

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