Dominican Republic intensifies operations against undocumented Haitians

( Spanish) – This Friday, the Immigration Directorate in the Dominican Republic intensified operations in the streets of Greater Santo Domingo, which includes the National District and Santo Domingo, and other parts of the country in search of undocumented Haitians to repatriate them to their country.

The large-scale operation, ordered by the Government, which seeks to repatriate at least 10,000 undocumented Haitians per week, has the participation of soldiers from the different military bodies, police and the Public Ministry.

Some Haitians detained by Immigration this Friday reported that their documents are up to date. However, the General Directorate of Immigration told that “the detention of many foreigners with documents is due to the fact that, when verified, in certain cases they are expired, others are false. Some claim to have their documents, but when they are reviewed they correspond to that of their country of origin.”

The Haitians consulted by classify the operations as a persecution that spreads fear both for those who have their documents, as well as for those who do not meet the requirements to be in the country.

By midday this Friday, Immigration had detained 1,100 undocumented immigrants, according to official data.