Deputy Pelegrín Castillo said the Catholic Church proposal to award Dominican nationality to all children of Haitians born in the DR is absurd. He said if the DR would do so it would be indicating to the international community that the country is able to take upon itself Haiti’s poverty. He says that the international community has washed its hands from the Haitian problems, while the DR suffers from being peacefully invaded by thousands of Haitians seeking to make a living. While the Haitians are cheap labor, their indigence places a heavy burden on social services (primarily public health and public education), increases deforestation and increases poverty in the DR in general. Castillo complained that the Haitian government does little to resolve the Dominican problem because the migration of Haitians to the DR is in a way a solution to Haitian problems. More so, he says time is on the hand of the Haitians. The Dominican Constitution specifically states that children born in the DR of diplomats or parents in transit (such as are illegal Haitians) are not Dominicans. The Haitian Constitution states that all children born of a Haitian parent, regardless of where they are born, are Haitian. Many parents of the children don’t even have legal Haitian documents themselves. Meanwhile, as time passes more people are involved, and the problem could be a three generation one soon. Making matters worse, the third generation will have no ties whatsoever to Haiti. Aside from the humanitarian aspects, the matter is of political importance, too. Several politicians argue that if Dominican nationality is granted to the Haitians, then at some point in the not too far future they will decide who governs the DR. While this debate is going on, the Haitian and Dominican Bilateral Commission is meeting in Santo Domingo. The migration issue is one of the most difficult being debated.
