The former director of the Migration Agency (DGM), Jose Ricardo Taveras is accusing the government of violating the Migration Law in granting collective status regularization in the past and could do so again.
He said when he was at the DGM, they were only able to regularize the status of 536 individuals that met legal requirements. He said when he was removed from the post, in 2015 in 16 days, the government would issue Resolution 04-2015 that granted 239,000 residency cards to undocumented Haitians living in the country of around 300,000 applicants who applied under Decree 327-13, or the National Plan for the Status Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE). He says this is evidence that the government carried out collective approval en masse, contrary to the principle of individuality of migratory procedures.
On a TV interview, he said that on 17 July 2017 the extension that was granted for a second time will expire and is concerned this could happen again.
Taveras rejects a collective solution to the more than 140,000 applicants who did not present basic ID documents to satisfy the PNRE requirements.
“If it is accepted to grant migratory status to that number of foreigners without them meeting the requirements of the law and Decree 327-13, then the government would be nullifying not only the decree but the Migration Law, Constitutional Court Ruling 168-13 and the Constitution.
“If the government does not provide sufficient funds for the control and development of the border, if the military on the border continue to be left without even basic meal plans, the informal ‘tolls’ paid to cross the border by the Haitians will essentially be the soldiers’ morning meal”. Taveras said the country cannot depend on the responsibility of the military or migration inspectors, but needs to carry out state policies with a vision of the border problems and our attitude towards Haiti.
The main obstacle in the legalization of the Haitians has been the lack of cooperation of the Haitian authorities in issuing basic documentation documents to the Haitians so these can complete the process here.
Taveras also advocated for the Dominican government to build and operate maternity hospitals, staffed by Dominican physicians in Haiti to reduce the pressure on Dominican public hospitals on this side of the border.
Taveras Blanco is secretary general of the Fuerza Nacional Progresista (FNP).
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
Al Momento
Listen to the interview at:
YouTube
14 July 2017
