Abstract

This article analyses the racialized construction of recent immigrants among the Chilean Carabineros as a discourse that can define the interactions between a state agency and recently arrived migrants. I argue that the construction of this discourse is framed on a socio-historical construction of Chilean identity and class position that can have important effects on the criminalization of immigrants and on the representation of immigrants as a public safety problem. I conclude by arguing that any migration policy needs to incorporate aspect that engages with building relations between Carabineros, local communities, and migrants at the micro-level.