The National Council of Migration has issued a resolution extending the time for submitting identity documents for the National Foreigner Status Legalization Plan (PNRE). The extension will be for a year. The plan originally expired on 15 May 2015, but the deadline has been extended by the government when acknowledging that the delays have been caused by the Haitian government and not lack of diligence by the Haitian applicants. This is the third extension.
Most Haitians who applied under the plan have not been able to obtain identity documents from Haiti (birth certificate, government ID or passport). The proposal is that within the new extension period, applicants (mainly Haitians) should be able to complete the program requirements and legalize their migratory status.
Former Migration director José Ricardo Taveras had warned President Danilo Medina and the National Migration Council to be careful not to extend the term of the National Plan for Status Legalization of Foreigners (PNRE) and much less grant any type of immigration status to immigrants who have not met the requirements established in Decree 327-13.
In a note, Taveras said that Article 3 of Decree 327-13 establishes as the only possible term to be eligible for the plan a period of 18 months that expired on 15 May 2015, and that Article 4 stipulates that aliens whose status is considered irregular “do not qualify nor can be applications be received by the government to address their status. And that these individuals may be subject to deportation in accordance with the Dominican Constitution and laws”.
He stated that not only was the series of extensions of deadlines granted so that foreigners can complete their applications illegal, the temporary, two-year status designated to the beneficiaries of the PNRE has expired. Therefore, Taveras insisted that no more extensions should be granted.
In addition, he said that in articles 25 and 93 of the Constitution, the regime of foreigners is subject to constitutional and legal control, which is why the competence of its regulation is strictly concerned with the National Congress and cannot be changed by administrative decisions or resolutions.
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Al Momento
26 July 2017
