The Chilean government will deploy armed forces units from tomorrow Monday to monitor the country’s borders with Peru and Bolivia, in order to reduce the entry of migrants into the territory through unsustainable crossings, the government announced on Saturday.

The mission assigned to the army, with an initial duration of 90 days, concerns the regions of Arica, Parinakota, Tarapaka and Antofagasta, a government executive order states.

The military is tasked with conducting identity checks and detaining people entering or leaving the country through secret border crossings, who will then be handed over to local police authorities.

The decree of the government of President Gabriel Boric speaks of “massive arrivals” of migrants from “uncontrolled crossings” at the border.

Javier García, the mayor of Colchane, a border community where the deployment of army units is concerned, told a local radio station that about 400 people try to enter Chilean territory every day by taking secret paths.

In recent years, Chile has recorded an increase in immigration flows from neighboring countries, mainly from Venezuela.

In the town of Colchane, in the Andes, on the border with Bolivia, is the busiest crossing for foreigners trying to enter Chile. Dozens have been killed in accidents trying to enter the country illegally in recent years.

Those who manage to reach Chilean cities often live in tents and many do odd jobs or beg.

In order to control migration flows and make it difficult to cross the border illegally, the Chilean authorities decided a year ago to widen a 600-meter ditch near Colchane.

However, gangs of criminals engaged in various types of smuggling and drug trafficking have built bridges, which are also used by illegal immigrants, mainly from Venezuela, according to the authorities.