Santo Domingo.- The president of Dominican RepublicLuis Abinader, stated this Monday that the “unprecedented” situation of insecurity that shakes the neighbor Haiti determines that his country continues with its migration policyalluding to the mass deportations of Haitians that have been carried out since the beginning of last October.
Abinader said that, although the Government of the new Haitian Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, “seems open” to dialogue with the Dominican Republic, Haiti continues to go through a “difficult” situation.
He explained that, given this situation, his Government has to continue protecting the Dominican Republic, which is why the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) “will continue to work very well,” while the Dominican Army will continue to be stationed on the border.
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According to Abinader, who spoke at his usual Monday press conference, the Dominican Republic contemplates the kind of “limbo” in which the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, led by Kenya, finds itself, which, in his opinion, , in part it is due to the change of Government in the United States.
“Given the unprecedented situation that Haiti is going through, a collapsed country and a growing Dominican economy, it is difficult for us to safeguard the border (…) There are many NGOs that bring Haitian citizens here, but that issue will be addressed in due course,” said the head of state.
At the beginning of October, the Dominican Republic began a massive deportation plan for Haitian citizens with irregular immigration status.
The Government then announced that it will deport at least 10,000 Haitians per week, which has further strained the traditionally tense relations between both countries.
Haiti has denounced that the deportations do not comply with human rights parameters, while the Dominican Republic has defended the process, arguing that this is done to guarantee national security.
According to the latest data from the DGM, from October 1 to November 15, the Dominican Republic has deported 55,723 Haitians with irregular immigration status.
