Bullrich creates new migration agency akin to US Homeland Security

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has announced the creation of a new National Migration Agency. Within the agency they will create a new division in charge of border security made up of civilians and members of the federal police, who will join military, airport, and navy police, the three forces that currently patrol Argentina’s borders. According to Bullrich, the decision aims to integrate the “operative capacity” of all federal police forces to control borders together with the migration office.  It is not yet clear how the new migration agency would operate — details are expected to appear in the decree that will formally create it. The Herald reached out to the security ministry, but they declined to comment. Two weeks ago, the migration office was transferred from the interior ministry to the security department. The decision to turn it into an agency means it will now have a higher national hierarchy and a larger structure.  Although it will still be formally part of the security ministry, the new agency will operate autonomously and manage its own budget, the authorities announced. NUEVA AGENCIA NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONESDamos un paso histórico: al trabajo diario de Migraciones le sumamos la capacidad operativa de las Fuerzas Federales con una fuerza civil-policial migratoria, con estándares claros, firmes y modernos para controlar de verdad nuestras… pic.twitter.com/A5x6arNLKA— Patricia Bullrich (@PatoBullrich) November 25, 2025 According to Bullrich, the main goal of these changes is to combat transnational and organized crime, as well as human trafficking. However, in a post on X she said it would also  target illegal immigration and provide “real migration control.” During the official announcement, the minister said the new border control system will be similar to that of other countries that have integrated their migration offices with federal police forces, such as several European Union countries, the United Kingdom and Mexico.  She also compared it to the United States’ Homeland Security. “They have integrated two police forces: TSA, which is like our [airport police], and the Border Patrol at the land borders,” she explained. Bullrich said the current migration control system is “outdated,” causing problems at border points. “Our goal is to make it a single task, carried out according to institutional and legal foundations that exist in different parts of the world, aligning Argentina internationally with global models and standards of migration management,” the minister concluded. The announcement comes as Bullrich is set to leave the security ministry to take a seat in the Senate on December 10. She will be replaced by current deputy minister Alejandra Monteoliva, who was also present at the press conference. Concerns on migration rights The creation of the migration agency and the new force is part of a set of changes to migratory policy.  The transfer of the migration office to the security ministry was seen by some experts as a change of how the state views migration: from being just population control to being an issue of national security. The change also included moving the office in charge of refugees and asylum seekers, CONARE, from the interior to the security ministry. “This is very serious,” Pablo Ceriani Cernadas, vice president of the United Nations’ Committee on Migrant Workers, told the Herald. In May, the Milei administration tightened migration legislation via a decree restricting foreigners’ access to public services and a relaxation on deportation requirements. Human rights organizations have said it curtails foreigners’ rights in Argentina. Ceriani Cernadas said that there was “no valid reason” to issue the decree. “Argentina is at its lowest immigration numbers in history,” the specialist on immigration and refugees said. “Statistics show that there is no evidence correlating immigration to crime, and that has been the case for the past 25 years,” he added. “There are no issues of mass entry of people across borders which would justify a reform.” According to Ceriani Cernadas, in Mexico the joint work between the National Guard and the migration office has caused “very serious issues” such as violence against migrant people, disappearances and mistreatment.  “The same goes for the United States, where the mostly security-focused policy has caused serious problems, has not reduced immigration, and is currently used to hunt people down,” he said. “This is leading us to the worst migratory policy in Argentine history, it breaks away with Argentina’s tradition of welcoming migrants.”