Chile could lose U.S. Visa Waiver benefit due to spike in organized crime
The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, will debate the rise in criminal tourism by Chileans. Last year alone, police recorded 58 Chileans arrested – for theft of jewelry, watches and high-value, easily-reduced items – forcing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement a double background check on those applying for the visa waiver.
The permanence of Chile in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) -which allows its citizens to travel with only an electronic authorization, without the need to process a consular encounter- will be debated in the U.S. House of Representatives. The reason for this is the rise of “criminal tourism” committed by those who take advantage of this benefit.
The president of the U.S. House of Representatives and leader of the Republican Party, Kevin McCarthy, announced that this Friday, together with a group of parliamentarians of the aforementioned party, will arrive in Orange County, California, to evaluate the “status” of Chile in the VWP and “the permissive laws on crime” of the southern nation.
McCarthy will lead a meeting with federal and local authorities, where the central point will be the discussion of the continuity of Chile with the benefit that allows them to travel for business and tourism, for a period of up to 90 days for each entry.
According to the representative of the lower house, the benefit of this program would be “facilitating the proliferation of a sophisticated type of organized crime”, after the arrest of Chileans in robberies and attacks in the Atherton sector of California.
Last year alone, the police recorded 58 Chileans arrested – for the theft of jewelry, watches and high-value and easy-to-reduce items – which forced the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement a double background check on those applying for the visa waiver.
With background checks
The Republicans are pushing for the meeting based on the report presented a month ago by Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who accused the government of Gabriel Boric of limiting the release of criminal records of nationals detained in the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.
“Without a criminal record, prosecutors have been greatly limited in trying to prove why these defendants pose a greater risk to public safety beyond a single charge of theft,” Spitzer questioned.
In its statement, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office identified three Chilean nationals arrested the first two weeks of May after burglarizing a home in the town of Anaheim – Diego Rendich Huentecol (29), Miguel Fernando Marchant Avila (31) and Manuel Rodrigo Venegas Burgos (31).
A negotiation in crisis
The pressure to eliminate the Visa Waiver to Chile would prevent the country from completing ten years with the benefit on February 28, 2024. The nation would lose the facility to expand economic and cultural ties with the United States through this route enjoyed by “40 privileged people” and which has been exclusive considering that no other country in the region has it.
“It will hurt entrepreneurs and businessmen. It is a competitive advantage with respect to our neighbors” points out the lawyer Felipe Burgos on Twitter, who also maintains that the country will take the weight to the benefit when they have to request an hour before the embassy with “months in advance”.
Up to now, Chileans can arrive in the United States with only a payment of US$20, without the need to apply for a regular B1/B2 visa (tourism/business), whose process takes an average of two years, requires the presentation of further documentation before the consular authorities and the payment of US$160.
At a diplomatic crossroads
Boric has until December to improve the perception of his administration and negotiate his Visa Waiver renewal. His foreign minister Alberto van Klaveren and the U.S. ambassador to Chile, Bernadette Meehan, are working with the Carabineros, the Investigative Police and the Civil Registry.
However, there are more problems. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported a 119% increase in deportations of Chileans in 2002 to 553.
In addition, losing the Visa Waiver is possible. Argentina is a mirror. The neighboring nation was the first in Latin America to enter the select group in 1996 but only stayed until 2002 due to the crisis and economic collapse that triggered migration. There is also the case of Uruguay. Although the rioplatense nation entered in 1999, it left in 2003 for the same reasons.