Amnesty International released a new report on 15 June 2016 claiming illegal deportations of more than 100,000 people from the Dominican Republic to Haiti.
The latest document “Where are we going to live? Migration and Statelessness in Haiti and the Dominican Republic” describes as “reckless” the way both governments have handled the deportation, expulsion and voluntary return to Haiti of tens of thousands of people from the Dominican Republic following an 18-month long regularization plan for undocumented foreigners living in the Dominican Republic.
During the period, the Dominican Republic eliminated fees and steps for regularizing undocumented foreigners to apply for legal residency to encourage thousands to legalize their status.
The Migration Agency (DGM) said that Amnesty has recognized the improvements in deportations procedures with the Haitian authorities now receiving a list with the names and general information on the deportees. The DGM said that the biometric data of deportees is registered and crosschecked against the database of names of people who were granted residence under the National Foreigner Legalization Plan (PNRE), which expired last year. In addition, undocumented students studying in the DR are allowed to conclude their studies with special status.
In the report on the undocumented population, for the first time Amnesty International is critical of the Haitian government for not identifying its nationals. It is well known that people in Haiti do not have identity papers, and the government has yet to take firm action to correct the problem. The report states: “On the other hand, Haitian authorities have not taken measures to facilitate access to identity documents to those who are entitled to Haitian nationality and would like to settle in Haiti. In particular, the draft law on nationality, which could facilitate access to Haitian nationality to those who were affected by the previous ban on double nationality, has yet to be adopted and implemented.”
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/06/haiti-dominican-republic-reckless-deportations-leaving-thousands-in-limbo/
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/politica/migracion-niega-que-se-deporte-a-los-dominicanos-de-ascendencia-haitiana-MI4039781
