The Dominican Republic (D.R.) is poised to begin the controversial deportation of hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrant workers and, potentially, Dominicans of Haitian descent who have been stripped of their citizenship. The impending crisis ushers from decades of tense relations between Dominicans and their Haitian neighbors to the east, and many observers believe international standards are being trampled in the process.
Dominicans of Haitian Descent Are Stateless: End the Crisis Now!
A controversial order of the D.R. Constitutional Court in September 2013 retroactively stripped citizenship from hundreds of thousands of Dominicans who are of Haitian parentage. In May 2014, the Dominican Congress adopted a law that created two categories of people: those who at some point were registered in the Dominican civil registry (group A), and those whose birth in the D.R. was never declared (group B). The law provided for a period of permanent residency with the possibility of naturalization, but only 5% of individuals from Group B were able to register before a February 2015 deadline and benefit from the program.
Haitian Workers Facing Deportation by Dominican Neighbors
In addition to Dominicans of Haitian descent, an estimated 524,000 foreign-born migrant workers, most of whom are Haitian, live in the D.R. They are also affected by the Dominican Government’s increased immigration enforcement. The government created the National Plan of Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE) that would allow for the legal residency of certain migrant workers with the registration deadline set for June 17, 2015. Human rights groups had hoped the government would delay the registration deadline for the many who experienced difficulty in assembling the necessary documents and clearing bureaucratic hurdles to register. This delay did not occur.
Dominicans of Haitian descent fear mass deportation as deadline looms
For non-citizen migrant workers to benefit from the Dominican regularization plan, they needed to establish their identity and prove they arrived in the D.R. before October 2011. To date, 250,000 migrant workers have started the application process for residency. Migrant workers who successfully registered are being granted a 45-day grace period in which their applications will be verified. While the government has promised there will not be mass deportations, many observers are skeptical. Recent Haitian immigrants to the D.R. were vulnerable to deportation prior to the July 17 deadline and approximately 40,000 were deported in the first quarter of 2015. .
Haiti’s Government Unsure How Many Haitians Will Leave Dominican Republic (Audio)
Haitian and Dominican civil society organizations have been active in advocacy efforts toward their respective governments. One of the lead organizations on the Haitian side is the Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR), and they have been active in planning to meet deportees at the border and provide reintegration assistance.
Haiti Braces for waves of deportees from the Dominican Republic
While much attention is fixed on the Dominican government’s preparations for deportations, less has been given to the Haitian government’s role in this potential crisis. Efforts to provide the legal documentation needed by Haitian nationals to regularize their status in the D.R. have been slow, and the Haitian government has struggled to build and staff facilities to meet deportees at two of the four official border crossings the countries share.
To hear the stories of those affected follow #HaitianLivesMatter or Amnesty International’s Twitter campaign #UncertainFate.
We encourage you to advocate. Several petitions are in circulation:
Amnesty International USA Action Alert:
Send an email to Dominican President S.E. Danilo Sanchez
‘We the People’ Petition to the Obama Administration (for U.S. Residents):
Sign the petition entitled “Pressure the government of the Dominican Republic to stop its planned “cleaning” of 250,000 black Dominicans”