Given its geographical location and the topographical difficulties to accessing its territory, Chile has traditionally had low immigration flows compared to other countries in the region. In fact, emigration flows have been higher. Immigrants represent one to two percent of the total population of Chile, and about six percent of the country’s population lives abroad.153 However, since the return to democracy, and mainly thanks to its political stability and economic development,154 Chile has recently experienced a sustained increase in immigration.155 This has led to increased political and social tensions156 between migrant and host communities, especially in northern regions and particularly in Antofagasta. It has driven nationalist sentiment and heightened protests against migrant populations, particularly Colombian refugees and economic migrants.157 Regional and local newspapers have reported on the denial of Chilean nationality to children born in Antofagasta to unauthorized migrant parents of Colombian descent.158 Despite the positive implementation of an administrative order by the government with regard to the “in transit” exception beginning in 2014, there is reason for concern that anti-immigration sentiment within specific interest groups may drive the adoption of harsher domestic legislation, particular the “in transit” exception, restricting the right to nationality of children born in Chile to foreign nationals. Furthermore, under the previous interpretation of the transient foreigner exception, many children were unable to access Chilean nationality. These children must file a petition before the Department of Foreign and Migration Affairs or through a judicial recourse before the Supreme Court in order to gain Chilean nationality. Political and Historical Background Throughout Chile’s legal and political history, nationality has been granted predominantly through jus soli. When Chile gained independence from Spain in 1810, due to its geographical location in the far west of the continent, the state’s priority was maintaining its population. Thus from the mid-19th century onward, a selective migration policy was implemented, seeking to attract European settlers to populate Chile’s uninhabited land, with the expectation that these migrants would modernize and improve the country.159 As some scholars have argued, the country’s geographical isolation facilitated early European immigrants’ role “as arbiters of who could arrive next, engendering early discriminatory policies.”160 As with other countries in the region, changes in political dynamics in Chile led to the adoption of nationality and immigration legislation in response to various contextspecific issues, resulting in an overall lack of consistency in laws and policies.161 The 1973 coup d’état and two decades of military dictatorship led to high emigration and a 50 COUNTRY PROFILES l CHILE