The country’s 32 provincial governors’ offices will operate as reception centers for requests from undocumented foreigners who accept the National Foreigner Legalization Plan, which the government will implement in compliance with Law 151 on Immigration, Constitutional Court Ruling 168-13 and Executive Branch Decree 327, as reported in Diario Libre. For this purpose, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) will set up civil registration stations and cedula stations in the governors’ offices, and will provide trained personnel to enable more effective data collection. The Minister of Interior and Police, Jose Ramon Fadul and JCE president Roberto Rosario signed a cooperation agreement with the provincial governors yesterday, Wednesday 12 March at the Ministry of Interior and Police (MIP) headquarters.
Through the consulting stations whose installation will begin this month, according to Rosario, they will carry out searches and comparisons of biometric data of applicants’ photographs and fingerprints.
Rosario added that the Board’s role will be to gather the information and pass it on to the MIP and it will only be entered definitively into the Civil Registry once the applicant’s status is established.
Decree 327 states that a foreigner has to show roots in the country; for example, having had children born here, studying here, knowing how to speak, read and write in Spanish, live at a permanent address, live with a Dominican, have no criminal background, and demonstrate links such as work or socio-economic status.
According to Rosario, nearly a million people with “irregular” status live in the country, mostly Haitians or their descendants.