The Mayor of Santiago Abel Martinez called on the migration authorities to undertake actions to control the entry of thousands of undocumented persons who continue arriving in Santiago, where he said they invade plazas, parks and other sectors while the authorities are doing nothing to deal with the situation.
Answering questions from reporters from the Diario Libre regarding the prohibition that undocumented foreigners occupy spaces in the new flea market that is now functioning in the sector of El Ingenio, the Santiago Mayor took advantage of the situation to again issue a call to the authorities to deal with the illegal entry of Haitians that he said are invading the city of Santiago as well as other nearby towns.
The mayor said that the authorities should rigorously apply the migration law, especially after having spent more than US$50 million on a legalization plan that was open to all immigrants. He criticized that every day more and more illegal Haitians can be seen on Santiago streets. Abel said the city should not permit the parks and plazas to be occupied by illegal foreigners.
The Mayor urged the authorities to take measures to repatriate anyone who is residing illegally in the Dominican Republic, regardless of their country of origin. He added that the Dominican Republic cannot continue to support persons who do not pay taxes, who cannot produce proof of legal status in the country or even basic documents to establish their identity.
He also noted that all the deadlines of the National Plan of Foreigner Regularization (PNRE) have passed. He said: “It is now up to government to carry out their responsibilities regarding the deportation of illegal persons in our territory.”
2 March 2017
