University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020-01-10 Continuity or change? Immigration policy in Chile Pando Burciaga, Elizabeth Pando Burciaga, E. (2020). Continuity or change? Immigration policy in Chile (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111531 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Continuity or change? Immigration policy in Chile by Elizabeth Pando Burciaga A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2020 Ó Elizabeth Pando Burciaga 2020 Abstract Since the return to democracy in the 1990s, Chile has become a destination for immigrants from South American countries. ResponDing to increases in immigration, governments have enacted a series of policies aimed mainly at social assistance and regularization for immigrants. These policies, however, have been adopted without repealing Decree-Law 1094 of 1975 (DL 1094), Chile’s law on immigration, created by presiDential Decree During the military government of Augusto Pinochet. Far from managing immigration and the integration of immigrants into Chilean society, DL 1094 was conceiveD as an instrument to securitize immigration policy and keep foreigners out. This dissertation addresses the question of how Chilean governments after the return to democracy have expanded the rights of immigrants when they shoulD have been constrained by DL 1094. The study reveals that such advances have been made possible thanks to a gradual process resulting from the accumulation of small changes as policy actors find gaps and ambiguities and “builD around” formal immigration institutions. The policy-making process is analyzed in three Distinct venues: central government, municipal governments, and the judicial branch. The study reveals first, that while actors in these three venues have no formal authority over immigration policy, they have acquired new responsibilities and created policies that effectively put boundaries around DL 1094; second, actors recruited into this policy area employ frames that discuss immigration policy in depoliticizeD ways, arising from each group of actors’ particular venue; anD third, this study finds that actors advance policies without dismantling the existing rules, but insteaD bypass, reinterpret, anD build arounD them. ii Preface I first learneD about immigration in Chile thanks to an article on the topic of immigration anD carework, which discusseD the market-place for Peruvian careworkers in Santiago and how the institution of carework was being transformeD thanks to new immigration patterns into the country. The traditional Chilean nanas (nannies) were being replaced by women from Peru anD other neighboring countries who performed the same services for Santiago’s midDle anD upper classes, albeit under more Difficult conDitions as a result of their immigration status. This led me to question how the Chilean state was managing (or failing to manage) this “new migration.” On the one hand, it appeared as if the state had completely abandoned its role in setting policy in this area, primarily because Decree-Law 1094 (DL 1904), Chile’s immigration decree adopted by Augusto Pinochet just two years after arriving to power in a military coup in 1973, is still the country’s highest immigration legislation. On the other hanD, I quickly learneD about a number of policies that were beneficial to immigrants, especially to those who tenDeD to have more precarious status, such as “undocumented,” or as Chileans will say, irregular immigrants. For example, one of such policies is the visa for pregnant women, which seemed to me to be an extremely progressive program. The program allows pregnant women who are in the country without a proper visa to obtain one, anD to access medical care During their pregnancy at no cost. Furthermore, their children born in Chile automatically obtain Chilean citizenship under the ius solis regime. As anyone who is familiar with Debates in CanaDa anD the UniteD States concerning the so-calleD “anchor babies” or “birth tourism” knows, healthcare iii access for immigrants, especially pregnant immigrants, is neither a given nor a popular policy. How coulD this be possible? How coulD the Chilean state abDicate its role in creating immigration policy yet produce some very progressive immigration policies at the same time? This dissertation is my attempt to provide an answer to this initial puzzle. Through my research, I have come to conclude that advances in immigration policy have been possible in spite of restrictive immigration legislation, DL 1094, thanks to the work of policy actors who have found ways to “build around” formal institutions in charge of immigration anD graDually replace them. This is why to an observer it could appear as if there is policy change and at the same time there is continuity with past legacies. Even though this approach has allowed actors to advance policy in the absence of immigration reform, the strategy of “builDing around” formal institutions is not without tensions. Without immigration reform, the Chilean state continues the legacy of an authoritarian regime anD threatens to revert advances in policy thus far. iv Acknowledgements Completing this dissertation has been possible thanks to the support and encouragement of numerous indiviDuals. These words of acknowledgement are not enough to express my gratituDe to all of them. I wish to thank first Dr. Susan Franceschet, my Dissertation supervisor, for sharing her expertise and advice throughout the Different stages of this work, as well as for her unending patience and support, but more than anything, for giving me the confidence to complete this project. My gratituDe as well to the members of my supervisory committee, Dr. Pablo Policzer and Dr. Melanee Thomas, for their Detailed review of my work, for raising important questions, and for their constructive feedback. I also wish to thank the Social Sciences anD Humanities Research Council of Canada for providing me with funDing to complete this work. This dissertation coulD not have been possible without those who kindly accepted to be interview participants; thank you for your interest in my work, for generously opening your doors to me, and for the work you do every Day. I also wish to thank the following faculty anD staff members in the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary for their kind support during my stuDies: Dr. Brenda O’Neill, Dr. Jack Lucas, Dr. Antonio Franceschet, Dr. Joshua Goldstein, and Dr. Mark Baron, as well as Ella Wensel, Judi Powell, Denise Retzlaff, Bonnie Walter, and Jessica Daigle. I am especially grateful to Mariana Mota anD Jeanne Liendo, as their frienDship has meant so much to me throughout this project and beyond. I also wish to thank DaviD Torre, Janine Giles, Jen Sidorova, Ricardo Vernet, anD Comfort Kwarteng, for their kinD support anD interest in my work. v The Latin American Research Centre at the University of Calgary was also my intellectual home throughout this enDeavour; thus, my thanks to Monique GreenwooD, Carolina Camelo, Rogelio Velez, Dr. Pablo Policzer (as LARC Director), Dr. HenDrik Kraay, anD Dr. Stephen RanDall, for your deDication in fostering a community of Latin Americanists. I would also like to thank Joanna Buhr anD Rosario Acosta for their continued support and friendship over the years. This work would not have been possible without the support of the Terrazas family, especially Leticia, Sergio, Estefania, anD Richard. Tambien quiero agradecer a mi madre, Elizabeth Burciaga, a mi padre, Alfredo Pando, y mi hermana, Abril Velasco; gracias por estar conmigo siempre y apoyarme en este proyecto, incluso mucho antes de yo saberlo. Lastly, I wish to thank Carlos Rodriguez, Rogelio Rodriguez, Rebeca Rodriguez, anD Octavia Rodriguez Pando, for their love anD encouragement; as this project comes to an enD, I cannot help but think of all the things we will now learn together. vi Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ iii AcknowleDgements ................................................................................................................................... v Tables and Figures ...................................................................................................................................... x Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................... xi 1. Immigration policy in Chile: explaining the pro-immigrant turn ............................................... 1 1.1 Chile’s new immigration meets the “the same old institutions” ......................................