Apparently the massive deportations of Haitian nationals caused the Haitian government to close the border crossing at Juana Mendez yesterday, allowing nobody to cross in or out of Haiti. Commercial activity started to slow down last Friday as the deportation picked up.
The move puts the Monday market in jeopardy.
While more than 2,000 Haitians had been sent back across the border by army and police units, the bishop of the Mao-Montecristi called for an end to the deportation process, which started after a woman was brutally murdered and her husband seriously injured in Hatillo Palma last week reportedly by a small group of Haitians.
According to Father Martinez, who coordinates frontier activities for the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Service, many Dominicans are being swept up in the dragnets and just yesterday 1,600 Haitians, many with legal residence, were also arrested.
Fiery Jesuit Regino Martinez, a very vocal parish priest in Dajabon, across the river from Juana Mendez, told El Caribe reporters that the deportations could well cause an international incident, since they were illegal and abusive.
The Immigration authorities as well as the Army and the National Investigation Department (DNI) told reporters that the deportations were intended to save lives, since the killing in Hatillo Palma had stirred up very strong anti-Haitian feelings. In fact, according to local papers, at least three Haitians had been killed in apparent retaliation for the crimes in Montecristi province.