Three-term former President Leonel Fernandez said when interviewed by the El Despertador morning show on Channel 9 on 9 April 2024 that if Haitians born here were given Dominican nationality, by 2050 these would control the country.
Presidential candidate Leonel Fernández warned that if the Dominican Republic lets itself be carried away by international organizations and NGOs that seek for the country to allow more migration to mitigate the multidimensional crisis in Haiti, the country would cease to be Dominican in less than 30 years.
Fernández responded that “jus solis” does not apply in the Dominican Republic and, therefore it is not true that you become a Dominican by being born in the Dominican Republic. “If we accept, we are affecting the country,” said Fernandez.
Fernández pointed out that Law 168-13 resolved a problem that existed in the Dominican Republic.
“In the case of Juliana Deguis, she was granted nationality not because it belonged to her, but because of an error in the civil registry, she was given a birth certificate,” said Fernández referring to the late Haitian rights activist.
Fernández noted that currently in the Dominican Republic there are 11 million Dominicans, and the projections are that by 2050 the population will double. However, he warned: “If all the Haitians who are born here are going to be Dominicans, we could lose the country.”
Over the past years, more than 35,000 Haitians a year are born in Dominican public hospitals, reflecting in great part the lack of safe hospitals in Haiti and the free services offered in the Dominican Republic. Haitian births at public hospital make up about 40% of all births. All Haitian women arriving to public hospitals receive free birthing services, regardless of their conditions and legal status.
Fernandez says he agrees with the current policy of deportation of undocumented immigrants. He said that given the special situation in Haiti it is unacceptable that the Dominican Republic be required to continue to receive the Haitians.
“With the case of Haiti, we must understand that the murder of Jovenel Moise is a special situation. When that happens, the failed state becomes a collapsed state, void of total power,” he said. He pointed out: “That represents an internal threat to the Dominican Republic.”
“Does the United States have the right of return and the Dominican Republic does not?, he highlighted during the interview.
While Fernandez spoke strongly against Haitian migration, the reality is that it is impossible to control the almost 400 km of border with Haiti. Likewise, during market days twice a week, now in Dajabon, more than 35,000 Haitians cross over. There are no controls on who goes back.
The Dominican Republic is a major provider of free social services to the population of Haiti. Thousands of students study in public schools here for free, regardless of their legal status. And as mentioned above, thousands come to give birth for free here, or to seek medical services at public hospitals. Many hospitals on the border with Haiti and Los Minas and La Altagracia in Santo Domingo, primarily cater to Haitian patients.
Jus Solis is the ‘right of the soil’, or the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship, also commonly referred to as birthright citizenship.
Almost all states in Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania grant nationality at birth based upon the principle of “jus sanguinis” (right of blood), in which nationality is inherited through parents rather than birthplace, or a restricted version of jus soli in which nationality by birthplace is automatic with very few exceptions.
The main problem affecting Haitians is that most of the people in Haiti are undocumented. International organizations have ignored this dilemma and instead insist the Dominican Republic shoulder more of the chaotic situation in Haiti. The lack of identity documentation of the parents creates major problems when these migrate to the Dominican Republic, their children enter the school system, and then seek regular jobs.
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El Despertador – as of minute 22
10 April 2024