Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic repatriated 154,333 people in an irregular situation during 2022, the “great majority” of them Haitian nationals, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) reported this Friday.
In a statement, the institution specified that this total corresponds to the period between January 1 and December 27, and stressed that in November “the record number for a month in 2022 was reached, which was 24,894 deportations of illegal immigrants.” Haitians».
In addition, the DGM pointed out, operations against irregular foreigners have been intensified on the occasion of the Christmas and New Year festivities, in order to “avoid an overflow of illegal migration” to the Dominican Republic.
After being detained, the undocumented are transferred to temporary detention centers on the Dajabón and Elías Piña borders and another located in Haina, some 25 kilometers west of the Dominican capital.
Migration officers are supported in their operations by soldiers from the Dominican Armed Forces and National Police.
The Dominican Director of Migration, Venancio Alcántara, stressed that these actions “have not stopped nor will they stop” in compliance with the law, immigration regulations, respect for human rights and international agreements.
At the end of last November, the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, affirmed that he is complying and will continue to comply with the laws and the Constitution of the country regarding the deportations of Haitians in an irregular situation.
“My commitment is only to the Dominican people,” Abinader said, according to the video and the message he himself posted on his Twitter account.
“When I was sworn in, I swore to comply with the Dominican Constitution and Dominican laws. And what I am doing is that and I am going to continue doing that because my commitment is only with the Dominican people, ”he stressed.
Days before Abinader’s statements, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, had asked the Dominican Republic to stop the forced deportations of Haitians, due to the violence and crisis in the neighboring country.
