DOMINICAN-IMMIGRATION Dominican FM defends immigration crackdown amidst Haitian deportation fears

Record ID: 151974

  • Title: DOMINICAN-IMMIGRATION Dominican FM defends immigration crackdown amidst Haitian deportation fears
  • Date: 23rd June 2015
  • Summary: SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (JUNE 23, 2015) (REUTERS) MIGRATION OFFICE SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE PEOPLE IN THE DOORWAY OF THE MIGRATION OFFICE VARIOUS OF BUSES BELONGING TO THE MIGRATION OFFICE WHICH WILL TAKE HAITIANS TO THE BORDER
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Dominican Republic
  • Country: Dominican Republic
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7JN6BPALDVGTZ1ME8X0C9K27Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDIT CONTAINS VIDEO THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    The Dominican foreign minister has defended a controversial crackdown on undocumented migrants in the Caribbean country which critics have dubbed as "racist" as Haitians citizens living in the country flee homeward across the border.
    Hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent have braced themselves for the risk of deportation for some time, ahead of the June 17 deadline for the enforcement of a new immigration law, originally passed last year.
    Dominican officials warned that anyone lacking identity documents or who did not register for a so-called "regularisation" programme before last Wednesday's (June 17) deadline could face deportation, and with the deadline now passed, many are heading home.
    The government says more than 210,000 people have registered under the programme, and those deemed eligible could earn a two year temporary migrant status.
    But the move has garnered high-profile international criticism from aid agencies and most recently New York Mayor Bill de Blasio who has blasted the immigration law as "illegal" and "racist".
    Dominican Foreign Minister Andres Navarro told media the Caribbean country needs to better explain to the world the migration realities it is facing.
    "What's happening here is a process of regularisation of migrants in our country. The Dominican Republic is doing this with a respect for human rights. The (immigration) reform has been the most comprehensive and of the largest scale by any country in the region. The Dominican Republic needs to show this to the world, to the diplomats in our country, and to diplomats in other countries, so that they know the truth because unfortunately what is being published is a series of moral judgements against the Dominican Republic that are not based on real data that we've had in our country. This is why it is necessary to create a programme with adequate information," he said.
    The comments from de Blasio comes amidst online campaign #NotOneDime which calls for a tourist boycott of the Dominican Republic.
    Navarro said his country's critics are not aware of the facts on the ground.
    "It's another case of people making moral judgements about the Dominican Republic with no knowledge of the real information and with no knowledge of the Dominican Republic. Whomever wants to be serious about what he says about any country, should first know the reality (of the situation) of that country. In our case, what we're trying to do is to make widely known everything we've done in the Dominican Republic," he added.
    Dominican President Danilo Medina has said there will be no mass deportations. But undocumented Haitian migrants can be deported within 48 hours of the deadline, government officials have said.
    Those who register under the regularisation program will have 45 days during which their applications are verified, whilst public authorities are arranging transport to help those who have chosen to travel to Haiti voluntarily.
    "We are in the process of making it easier for foreigners who decide to return to their country voluntarily to be able to do so. With this objective, the directorship of the Migration Office, the Ministry of Interior and Police, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are facilitating transport methods for our Haitian neighbours to be able to return home for free, without having to buy a ticket or pay anything else," Deputy Director for the Dominican Migration Office, Ambiorix Rosario, told Reuters on Tuesday (June 23).
    The Dominican government says the changes to its nationality and immigration laws aim to tackle illegal migration from neighbouring Haiti. Human rights groups say the move is rooted in longstanding racism and xenophobia in the Dominican Republic towards darker-skinned Haitians.
    Haitians living in the Dominican Republic say the documentation requirements for residency are too extensive and costly, with some claiming to have spent up to 12,000 Dominican pesos (260 U.S. dollars) and having received nothing.
    The authorities, however, defend the system and the respective treatment of migrants who do or do not possess documentation.
    "A full protocol has been established to protect the human rights of all those affected. They are brought to the migration office, they are given the opportunity to show their documentation if they have it, that person will not be touched, but will be returned to where they had been located. If they do not have documentation, they will be taken to a shelter where they will be guaranteed all their rights, where they will sleep in a bed, where they will be given the food required and then they will be sent to wherever it is that they come from, if that is the border then they will be sent to the border," Rosario said.
    Four shelters are being set up to receive undocumented migrants, and the Dominican army has 2,000 troops ready to help coordinate the removal of people who fail to meet legal requirements to remain in the country.
    With the UN Refugee Agency estimating more than 200,000 "stateless" people and with many of them not even recognised in Haiti, the High Commission for Refugees has warned the exodus of migrants could be devastating for an already strained Haiti.
    At this normally bustling market, the absence of Haitians is palpable.
    This unidentified Dominican woman said undocumented migrants should be given more time to sort out their situation.
    "That's what they do. They leave their country, where there is less (fewer resources) and come to this country to earn a living, I think they should give them additional time for them to sort out their situation, be legal and earn a living because everyone knows that there's no way to make a living in Haiti," she said.
    No official figures have been released on the number of Haitians returning home, but immigration officials say the large numbers of people arriving at the border won't be taxed for the belongings they bring with them as they look to start a new life.
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