Foreign Relations Minister Andres Navarro met with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in New York City as part of his international tour to explain the Dominican migratory plan. During the meeting, Navarro explained the scope and benefits of the Dominican Republic efforts to document persons living in the country under the National Foreigner Legalization Plan (PNRE). The implementation of the plan that dated back to the Dominican Migration Law in 2004 was ordered in 2013 by the Constitutional Court. The plan seeks to document all foreigners living in the country, with the greatest challenge being the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Haitians. In Haiti most people do not have legal documentation that has created major problems when they emigrate. For most of the immigrants, this is the first time they are issued legal documentation of any sort.
“Mister Secretary General, as you are informed, the Dominican state has invested more than RD$2 billion in the free normalization plan for hundreds of thousands of foreigners that applied. This plan was based on the Dominican Constitution and adhered strictly to the respect for human rights,” Navarro told the UN Secretary General.