SANTO DOMINGO.-The administration headed by President Luis Abinader has taken a series of measures aimed at reducing immigration from Haiti, at a time when that country faces serious problems of insecurity and political and economic instability, receiving in turn pressure from local and international organizations in against them with the intention of making the country bear the Haitian crisis.
The most recent measure was issued last Saturday through decree 668-22, where the Executive Branch ordered the prevention and prosecution of invasions and irregular occupations of private property and the State, and in the case of foreigners who are prosecuted and permanently expelled from the country.
It also indicates that foreigners repatriated for this crime will not be able to return to the country, for which action the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Directorate of Migration must also intervene.
The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Víctor-Ito-Bisonó, assured that foreigners who are in the country must comply with the Dominican Constitution or else they must go to their country of origin or to others that apparently “are demanding them.”
“Those who come to the Dominican Republic have to respect the Constitution, the law and the statutes that have conglomerated our religion, culture and dynamics, if not, they should not come, they should stay in their country or if we do not help them to leave for another country, because it seems that there is another country that is demanding that they be sent to them,” said Bisonó.
He added that where there is a violation of the right to property and that it comes from a person who is irregular, the least that a responsible State can do is take measures and protect the citizen who has his right to property and whoever is violating the law will have the due consequences.
Wall
One of the first measures adopted by the current administration is the construction of the intelligent perimeter fence that will separate us from Haiti, which the president announced during his first accountability in February 2021, and whose construction began in February 2022.
The first stage of the project that is carried out in Dajabón and that will have 54 linear kilometers, currently has more than 11 kilometers already built, which has been harshly criticized by opposition organizations and sectors.
In November 2021, the National Migration Council (CNM) announced a series of measures regarding the entry of illegal foreigners who represent an economic burden for the country, preventing the entry of foreigners six or more months pregnant , a measure that was allowed to dilute over time due to international pressure, while Dominican hospitals continue to be full of Haitian women in labor.
Following the measure to reduce women in labor, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women lamented the “abuse” that, according to them, Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic suffer in many areas, for which they asked this country to take measures to improve the situation of this group.
The Dominican Republic registered some 35,000 Haitian women in labor during 2021, which represented an expense for the Dominican State of between 400 and 600 dollars per pregnant woman, according to data from the National Health Service.
The report adds that around 110,000 deliveries to foreign mothers took place during 2021, 30% of these corresponding to Haitian parturients.
not refugees
With the increase in violence by criminal gangs in Haitian territory, the Government ordered an increase in military operations on the border and announced the acquisition of military equipment that includes helicopters, aircraft and armored vehicles, in addition to the creation of a Southern Command of the Air Force, in Barahona.
During said announcement, President Abinader warned that the Dominican Republic will not accept refugees from Haiti if the crisis in the neighboring country requires it.
“In no way would I accept the approach (of refugees) in the Dominican Republic,” said the president, adding that the Dominican Republic would only play a diplomatic role in the crisis and would not participate in a possible military intervention, since the country has done enough to help Haiti.
Last week, President Abinader described as unacceptable and irresponsible the statements of the United Nations commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, assuring that “the migration policy of each country is the power of each government.”
Abinader added that the Dominican Republic will not only continue the deportations, but that they will be increased starting next week.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the Dominican Republic to stop the forced deportations of Haitians to their country of origin.
In addition, Türk asked the Dominican authorities to increase their efforts to prevent xenophobia, discrimination and all forms of racial or ethnic intolerance towards Haitian immigrants.
The humanitarian crisis has worsened in recent months in Haiti, with armed gangs blocking access to the country’s main ports and an increase in the incidence of cholera in the Haitian population.
Called
– Community
In various national and international scenarios, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, has reiterated the call to the international community to act urgently in the face of the crisis situation in Haiti.
Authorities detain 650 undocumented immigrants
operatives. In the last 48 hours, the authorities carried out interdiction operations in the province of Dajabón that resulted in the detention of 650 foreigners in irregular immigration conditions.
Military personnel intervened from last Saturday until early Sunday morning in different neighborhoods of this demarcation, where Haitians move and live irregularly.
The detainees were transferred to the Beller Fortress, in Dajabón, to be handed over to the General Directorate of Migration and returned to their country of origin.
Last week President Abinader announced the increase in deportations.