The Government of Javier Milei is preparing a decree to comprehensively transform the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones and align it with the model used by the United States regarding border control and immigration policy.
The initiative seeks to grant the agency, which has so far had an administrative profile, new operational capabilities, including the creation of an internal police force with detention powers at the country's entry points.
The libertarian administration intends for this future structure to intervene directly in deportation processes of immigrants with criminal records, alerts, or immigration irregularities, although without becoming a new federal force. The official idea is for the new body to operate in a complementary manner to the Policía de Seguridad Aeroportuaria (PSA), avoiding overlapping tasks.
Javier Milei, presidente de los argentinos.
"This is part of what we've been discussing with Homeland Security," government sources stated, according to TN. This shift is part of the memorandum of understanding signed by President Javier Milei in July during the visit of U.S. official Kristi Noem, a key step toward Argentina's potential inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program.
This agreement is complemented by commitments related to immigration and customs regulations, the latter under the jurisdiction of the Dirección General de Aduanas, within ARCA, led by Juan Pazo.
Milei's government is closely monitoring U.S. agencies dedicated to these functions. Among them are the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), focused on immigration procedures and processes; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), responsible for detentions and investigations of immigration violations; and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees entry control, border inspections, and the operation of the Border Patrol.
The planned reform for Migraciones is part of a broader series of changes. In July, the government had already reformed the structure of the four federal forces, redefining their organizational frameworks, missions, hierarchies, and functions. That redesign was also modeled after U.S. agencies, such as the National Guard (NGUS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Coast Guard (USCG).
ICE.
Within that same package, the Argentine Federal Police was converted into an investigative body with a logic similar to the FBI, through the creation of the Federal Investigations Department (DFI) and a new career path as "Crime Investigator for Professionals."
Meanwhile, the PSA expanded its powers in preventive tasks in digital environments without judicial authorization and in the development of criminal intelligence. In addition, the National Airport Security Committee was created, composed of the PSA, Migraciones, Customs, and ANAC, to strengthen protocols and controls at airports.
Immigration reform
At the same time, Milei's government had already moved forward in May with a decree on immigration reform that modified access to public healthcare, education, residency criteria, grounds for rejection, and deportation procedures.
Among the most notable changes are the tightening of entry requirements, the limitation of the validity of "precarious residency," the establishment of mandatory sworn statements, and the authorization of border rejections with reentry bans that can't be less than five years.
With the new decree in preparation, the libertarian administration seeks to consolidate an immigration policy with stricter control and greater operational tools, aligned with the standards that Milei's government takes as a reference in the United States.
