Building Bridges and Paving Roads Instead of Digging Trenches

The "Plan Escudo Fronterizo" in Chile, which involves the construction of trenches, large-scale walls, advanced technological surveillance, and a greater military deployment on the northern border, reflects a trend toward a control and containment approach to migration policy.

However, the evidence is consistent: physical infrastructure does not stop irregular migration but rather reshapes it. In the absence of safe and regular pathways, the people who have migrated tend to resort to increasingly dangerous routes, which increases their exposure to highly vulnerable situations (IOM,2024). In other words, the construction of trenches may be used to seek political gain, but it does not solve the problem of transnational human trafficking networks, nor does it change the structural factors that drive migration. The result is not a reduction of the phenomenon but its deterioration.

The discussion is not purely political or technical, it is also ethical. Effective migration management requires comprehensive approaches grounded in a more humane understanding of the complexity of the situation, respect for human rights, cooperation between countries, and the implementation of regularization mechanisms, beyond physical containment.

From the Camino Vital Foundation, echoing Jorge Drexler's song Los puentes (The Bridges), we advocate in favor of seeking joint solutions, because societies face their challenges better when they build connections rather than deepen divisions.

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