Dominican ambassador to the United States Anibal de Castro has published an opinion piece in the Miami Herald explaining the scope of the country’s new immigration policy.
“Unfortunately, much of the debate about the Dominican Republic’s approach has been characterized by inaccurate or imprecise information. Rumors, which are untrue, abound of deportations and de-nationalizations (neither has happened). Given all the disinformation circulating on this issue, we need to carefully examine what has and has not happened since the court ruling,” he states.
He writes that in September 2013 the highest court in the DR ruled that those living in the country who could not prove their legal status would be given the opportunity to normalize their immigration status. He points out that a sizable portion of the Dominican population that lacks documentation as well as undocumented people from more than 120 countries who are residing in the Dominican Republic, including a significant number of immigrants of Haitian descent, would benefit.
“In response to the ruling, the Dominican government created a Regularization Plan to positively improve the condition of these undocumented people. The plan provides for a temporary status that will lead to the acquisition of a permanent residency, a temporary residency or a non-resident visa, in accordance with each individual’s conditions,” he writes in the opinion piece published in The Miami Herald.
www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/23/3888907/dominican-republic-immigration.html