Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic will continue with its policy of mass deportation of citizens undocumented haitiansbecause what is important for the country is its national security, the Dominican president, Luis Abinader, stated this Monday.
«We are going to continue deporting those who are on the streets, without working, national security comes first (…). We will do this until there is normality in Haiti and from there they can obtain work permits,” said the president.
AbinaderHowever, he said that the Government is in talks with producers of products such as sugar cane, bananas and rice, where Haitian labor represents more than 80%, to follow up on “many permits” that they had. Haitians to work in the country, but who have not been able to renew due to the instability in Haiti.
You may also be interested in:
“We must also consider that sugar cane and rice producers have been mechanizing their crops and that is the path we must follow,” the president said in his usual Monday press conference at the National Palace.
Abinader, on the other hand, denied that he and the Dominican Foreign Minister, Roberto Álvarez, met last September in New York – within the framework of the UN General Assembly – with the now dismissed Haitian Prime Minister, Garry Conille, and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominique Dupuy, as sectors of the opposition have expressed.
«Any decision between the Dominican Republic and Haiti in their relations, we make them public, those are speculations. “If there is a decision that affects the country in relation to Haiti, that will always be published and made known,” he said.
Last Wednesday, Dupuy welcomed the fact that there has been a reduction in the deportations of his compatriots residing in the Dominican Republic with irregular immigration status and said he aspires to a frank and respectful dialogue with this border country.
«We welcome the reduction in deportations, the result of our efforts and our solidarity with our allies. Haiti aspires to a frank and respectful dialogue with the Government of the Dominican Republic, for an association where each nation finds its advantages,” the Haitian chancellor explained in her X account.
However, that same day the Dominican Minister of the Interior and Police, Faride Raful, “categorically” denied what Dupuy said about the reduction in deportations.
«Immigration policy is a sovereign right of each State. “No country or international organization has the power to interfere in the internal decisions of the Dominican Republic,” the high-level official wrote on her X account.
Raful considered that the immigration policy of the Dominican Republic is a sovereign and non-negotiable right.
«We categorically deny any claim about an alleged reduction in repatriations at the request of Haiti. The statements of the Haitian Foreign Minister @DominiqueAyiti are false and seek to interfere in our internal affairs,” said the minister.
The National Security and Defense Council, headed by President Abinader, announced at the end of October the immediate execution of an operation with the objective of repatriating up to 10,000 migrants per week.
This operation seeks to reduce the excess migrant population that is perceived in Dominican communities and will be carried out under strict protocols that ensure respect for the human rights and dignity of repatriates, the Government announced.
