Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballestar, the director general of Migration, made it clear to many representatives of the agricultural sector of Tireo and Constanza that his agents would continue to pursue and capture undocumented aliens, even if they were working in the fields.
Farmers, local politicians, members of Congress, all have asked that the Migration Agency for lenience with the Haitian laborers that are an important workforce for the vegetable crops in La Vega province.
Minister of Agriculture Limber Cruz Lopez attended the meeting on the strict application of the government’s immigration policies that President Abinader has proclaimed as necessary for the national security.
The farmers told the authorities that the constant roundups of undocumented workers (Haitians) was damaging their ability to produce crops. Their request was very simple: find some way to remedy this situation.
It should be remembered that several months ago, there were news items referencing an agreement between the Migration Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, and banana growers to provide temporary identification to several thousand workers. Other sectors such as construction and tourism have files similar requests.
However, in this case Vice Admiral Lee Ballester rejected the pleas of the Constanza farmers, saying that the operations of the Migration Agency is complying with Law 285-04, because this issue of illegal immigrants affets the national security, as well as the safety of Dominican citizens.
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Diario Libre
25 August 2025