Abstract

In 2020, as a result of border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of forcibly displaced migrant families, mainly of Venezuelan origin, entered Chile through unauthorized crossings. In response, the Government activated administrative measures to restrict mobility and promoted the militarization of the border. Although these measures did not limit people's entry, they were threatened by illegal collective expulsions and by a “humanitarian” intervention that aggravated the crisis. In this context, we explore through a collaborative ethnography, how the control of cross-border mobility is linked to and reinforced by the health control of this population, threatened by the international border order. Specifically, we illustrate the effects of transit density on displaced persons, based on the management of the “migratory crisis” through the “Colchane Plan,” and we analyze the humanitarian response as a form of government that invisibilizes and naturalizes serious consequences on the health of bodies in mobility.