Dozens of Dominicans returning from the Dominican Republic to the United States, where they are legally residents, are being intercepted and interrogated for several hours by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Several of the retuning passengers were apparently coerced into signing Form I-407, which allows those with green cards to voluntarily abandon their status as a lawful permanent resident of the United States. This form is used when a green card holder decides to return to their homeland and give up their US residency.
Many, including those who have no criminal record have been asked to sign the document and return on the next available flight to the Dominican Republic, which will be paid for by the United States government.
The largest numbers of those affected have been stopped at the airports of John F. Kennedy in New York, Liberty in Newark (New Jersey) and Logan in Boston. In addition there were many such incidents at the Miami International airport.
Diario Libre reports that ICE agents have intercepted Dominicans in the corridors of terminals before the passengers even reach the official immigration area.
Following complaints about the practice, the Dominican Consulate in New York and the Coalition of Northern Manhattan for the Rights of Immigrants (CNMIR) have begun a local media campaign that informs Dominicans of this ICE practice, advising those Dominicans who have police records of any kinds that they run the risk of being investigated by ICE if they leave and try to reenter the US.
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Diario Libre
SCPR
8 February 2017
