Mr. Director:
The Director of Aliens, Alvaro Bellolio, has reiterated his attacks on the legal clinics of migrants, this time to answer for the ineffectiveness (of his own distribution) in the expulsion of a dangerous foreign criminal.
UDP Law School has a long history of Legal Clinics working from family to criminal cases. These have promoted and catalyzed important changes in Chile, such as the implementation of sign language in TV news, non-discriminatory access to HIV treatments, and certainly recognition of the nationality of children born in Chile, which gave rise to the Chile Recognizes program to end the cailldia in our country. The clinics also have a training work, by training our students in the provision of quality services and with high ethical standards.
In cases of expulsion of foreigners, as in all, clinics sponsor cases with strong foundations; they do not act frivolously or just to delay procedures. Among them are Venezuelan families with young children whose irregular admission is due to the border authorities refusing to apply for asylum, which they are required by law to process. There are also women who entered the country irregularly out of fear and ignorance, escaping the violence they suffered from their partner in their home country. They are people with desperate stories, who have been severely violated by their human rights and those of their families.
That our resources have strong foundations is proven that in the last 3 years we have won approximately 85% of the cases filed in the higher courts of justice. Probably for Mr. Bellolio, the judges who resolve also have “ideological reasons” for rejecting expulsion orders.
Thus, Mr. Bellolio eludes his obligation to respond to a legitimate citizen concern for the correct and timely application of the law in his charge, questioning a totally legitimate task, also fundamental to the validity of the rule of law, where the decisions of public bodies can always be reviewed by the courts of justice.
Fernanda Gutierrez
Francisca Vargas
Teachers from the UDP Migrant and Refugee Legal Clinic
Cristian Irrigation
Director of the UDP Legal Clinics Department
Lidia Casas
Director DDHH UDP Center
