The death of a newborn this Friday once again put the Haina Immigration Processing Center, located in the San Cristóbal province, under the microscope.
As reported by the General Directorate of Migration (DGM), the baby was the son of the Haitian citizen Melisa Jean Batista20 years old, who had been detained in Baní due to her irregular immigration status. Both were taken to the center and evaluated by medical personnelwhich reported that they were stable.
Migration indicates that, according to the mother’s testimonyduring the early morning she was breastfeeding the baby when she had a restless episodefollowed by hiccups and breathing difficulties. “Immediately the medical staff came to his aid, transferred him to the center’s dispensary and applied the corresponding maneuvers to try to stabilize him,” said Immigration.
He maintained that support was also requested from the 9-1-1 National Emergency System and he was transferred to the San Cristóbal hospital, but the baby died.
- The DGM indicated that investigate the case.
With this, they add three deaths reported by Migration in that center this 2025.
At the beginning of Septemberthe Haitian Gedilia Lonzandieu36 years old, died after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest inside the center, where she had been taken after being detained in La Vega.
The institution assured that the woman was treated by doctorspresented signs of anxietydehydration and paleness, and died while being transferred to an ambulance.
Months before, on the 23rd Junethe American citizen Ellen Frances Hulett was found dead within the same center after remaining in custody for more than two months.
He National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) concluded that Hulett, 24, died from heart failure as part of a multiorgan failure.
The American citizen was detained by the National Policein Savannah of the Seawithout documents. According to Migration, he had a psychotic picture and communicated in writing in English. He claimed to be from different countries and used a male name, which made his identification difficult. This was finally established in June through facial recognition.
His case raised several questions about the medical evaluationthe supervision protocols and the retention times of foreign people in the country.
Deaths in centers of USA
The deaths in detention centers They are not a phenomenon exclusive to the Dominican Republic. According to a report cited by the Spanish newspaper The Countryhe Immigration and Customs Enforcement of USA (ICE) registered 22 deaths in custody during fiscal year 2025, the highest number in two decades.
Among the deceased are latinos, Asian and Caribbeanas well as two migrants who were shot dead by a sniper at an ICE office in Dallas. Victims’ families have reported lack of explanations, poor medical evaluations and delays in care.
Cases like those of the Mexican Ismael Ayala-Uribearrested while working and died a month later in Californiaand the Honduran Holy Kings Banegasfound dead in his cell, unleash questions about the treatment of immigrants detained in the United States.
