AMERICA/CHILE - Bishop of Arica outraged about deportation detention for 32 migrants from Venezuela

Tuesday, 27 April 2021 emigration   local churches  

Arica (Agenzia Fides) – Mgr. Moisés Atisha, Bishop of the Chilean diocese of San Marcos de Arica, has published a statement in which he expresses "indignation and rejection" for the events that occurred on April 23, 2021, at the Police station in Arica, where 32 Venezuelan citizens are currently in detention. According to the Bishop these people were arrested without notice and their documents were confiscated. Since then, they have been prevented "from communicating with their immediate relatives and a lawyer who could represent them". Some detainees are parents of minor children. "This is a serious and violent violation of the fundamental rights of migrants", underlines the Bishop. "The State of Chile is obliged to respect and protect the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of a person regardless of their nationality, gender, age and migrant status, as prescribed in the constitution of the republic and in international human rights treaties signed by Chile and in force", underlines Mgr. Atisha. "As a Church - he reiterates - we defend and protect children, girls, young people and the family of migrants, the fundamental core of society, and we call on the authorities of the Republic of Chile to respect the principles of family unity and the best interest of the child".
The bishop then asks that imprisoned migrants be assured of a fair trial and that there is the possibility of legal representation. He also reminds that the New Immigration Law allows, in its transitional article 8, that people who have entered through unofficial entrances can voluntarily leave within 180 days from April 20, the day the law was published. The latest behavior of the police "therefore make the new law dead word". "We cannot ignore the fact that those affected are Venezuelan citizens" - continues the Bishop, "they come from a country that is marked by poverty, hunger, violence and the violation of fundamental rights. We are facing one of the greatest exodus in the history of the South of America, which affects the entire region strongly". Mgr. Moisés Atisha invites the State of Chile to seek "international cooperation measures that will allow us to find a global solution for the lives of people of Venezuelan nationality who want to make our country their new home". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 27/4/2021)


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