Over the past several months the Dominican Republic has been deporting people of Haitian descent under a controversial migration policy.  This policy has set a deadline for undocumented foreigners to apply for temporary residence in the country.

Politicians in the Dominican Republic have been concerned about the influx of people from neighboring Haiti.  Several children born to undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of which are Haitian, have also been stripped of citizenship unlawfully due to this. 

 Over the years, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have crossed into the wealthier Dominican Republic to escape political violence and to seek a better life.   Some have found refuge in the Dominican Republic after a 2010 earthquake destroyed the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.  Many of these immigrants work as cheap laborers in construction, agriculture and domestic work.  Eight out of every 10 migrants, mostly Haitian, live in the Dominican Republic illegally.

 After an international protest the Dominican Congress passed a law allowing some immigrants to apply for residency before a June 17 deadline. This was a temporary suspension of deportations to allow immigrants to obtain proper documentation in order to stay on.

Foreign Minister Andrés Navarro has recently said “that the government is  doing regular enforcement of the immigration law," 

 The Dominican Republic, shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with its impoverished neighbor Haiti.  This island has a population estimated to be as high as 1 million people originally from Haiti.

Several thousands of Haitians and Haitian-Dominicans have fled the Dominican Republic. They have settled in camps with terrible conditions.  The population at four camps in the south of Haiti as at least 2,000 and growing due to the continuing deportation.

The United States government and the United Nations are concerned that some people with a right to citizenship or residency might be asked to leave due to this deportation process. This is because they will not have enough time and resources to obtain proper documentation. 

The solution to this problem is:

 

1) International opposition to the immigration policy.

2) Further extension of the deadline to file for immigration.

3) Addressing of this problem by the U.S government.

4) Allowing children of undocumented immigrants born in the Dominican Republic to fairly remain citizens.

5) Involvement of the United Nations in this matter so that deportation is not done in the masses as is happening.

6) Human rights groups have become involved in opposing this movement. They have called on Dominican authorities to put in place legislation and other measures to fight discrimination against people of Haitian descent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-dominican-idUSKCN0QK0GB20150815

 

www.reuters.com/article/us-dominican-haiti-immigration-idUSKCN0Q327820150729

 

www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/07/10/dominican-republic-temporarily-halts-deportation-of-haitians

 

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