The Milei administration has expelled its first immigrant as part of its controversial executive order 366/25. Juan Pedro Martinez Piedraita, a 60-year-old Afro-Uruguayan and father of two, had been living in the country for 19 years.

According to Diego Morales, who leads the litigation and legal defense team at the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS, by its Spanish acronym), Martinez Piedraita was detained on Friday at the National Directorate of Migration (DNM), where he had gone to renew his status as a temporary resident. 

In 2021, Martinez Piedraita had received a suspended sentence of 18 months for crimes related to threats and disobedience. That sentence had elapsed when Martinez Piedraita applied for a national identification card, also known as a DNI. DNM ultimately elected to deport him on the grounds that he was in violation of an article of the Immigration Law that prohibits those with criminal records from remaining in the country. But this article only applies to those whose crimes earned sentences of three years or longer. What’s more, Martinez Piedraita’s children are Argentine, which makes him eligible for permanent residence.

The Uruguayan native was transferred to the Federal Police, with whom he remained until Wednesday morning. At 3:00 AM, he was taken to Uruguay aboard a Buquebus, a ferry that makes regular trips between the two countries across the Rio de la Plata.

“We were made aware of this case today, when Piedraita’s attorney, Zulema Montero, informed us that she had told the judge who ordered his detention that he was the father of Argentine children, that he had completed his suspended sentence, and that the sentence was for less than three years,” Morales told the Herald. “They deported him anyway.”

“Our concern is that expulsions could be carried out without a legal basis, to say nothing of the family separation involved,” he added. “Beyond the legal ramifications in Argentina, this could also create a diplomatic dispute with Uruguay.”

A radical reimagining of Argentine immigration

On May 29, a little over a month before the extraordinary powers granted to him by Congress for a period of one year were set to expire, President Javier Milei issued an emergency decree (DNU, by its Spanish acronym) that dramatically tightened immigration controls within the country. This decree has limited migrants’ access to health and education while creating new requirements for those applying for Argentine citizenship. It has also made it easier for the government to deport foreign nationals unilaterally.

In the language of the DNU, the administration defended its measure as one of urgency and necessity by arguing that President Donald Trump had already deported 1.25 million migrants from the United States, that he was expected to expel more, and that it was “likely that an important number of those deportees would settle or try to settle in [Argentina].”

It added that such an influx “would generate an impact on the economy and the essential services of the population.”

Milei’s executive order, which mirrors the nativism of other far-right governments, including Trump’s, has fundamentally altered what had been one of the region’s most open and inclusive immigration policies. Whereas foreign nationals previously only had to reside in the country for two years in order to apply for citizenship, they are now required to “have made a relevant investment in the country,” and the length of their stay has no bearing on their application. They likewise must demonstrate that they have “sufficient financial means to subsist in the country” to obtain permanent residence.

Along similar lines, immigrants’ access to public education has been limited to pre-, primary, and secondary schooling. Barring permanent residency or a medical emergency, they are also broadly unable to access public hospitals for free.

“These two decisions are completely illegal and go against the constitution and treaties to which the country has adhered,” CELS said in a communiqué at the time. “Moreover, mandatory health insurance is required as a condition to enter the country. This measure may be restrictive for people without resources or visiting relatives.”

“These practices allow for a more intense and widespread form of surveillance, as well as generate an environment of harassment for migrants, including those whose papers are being processed or lack documentation for immigration control.”