Every week dozens of Dominicans land in Santo Domingo after being deported from the United States, leaving behind families, homes and the dream of getting a better future.
Those desires began for many in the fishing municipality of Sabana de la Marlocated in the province of Hato majorin the east region of the Dominican Republic, from where a large number of Dominicans left on their irregular trip to Puerto Ricoan associate state of the United States, which they now return after being deported.
One of those who had to give up that dream was Fausto Espinofather of six children and neighbor of Sabana de la Mar.
“They stopped me in front of my house when I came to work,” Espino indicated to Efe, who was recently repatriated from the United States, a country that has deported this year to around 2,100 Dominicans in irregular migratory status.
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This Sabanalamarino arrived on the neighboring island on an irregular trip in Yola, a typical vessel made of wood or fiber widely used in fishing tasks and also used these occasions.
Espino worked in Puerto Rico for seven years as a cabinetmaker, the profession he learned in his family, along with other professional activities.
Once arrested, he was transferred by the US authorities to the Puerto Rican capital, then to Aguadilla (Puerto Rico) and, later, to Miami (United States).
Later, Espino was taken to Texas (United States), where He remained a month arrested Until finally he could leave, after a bus trip to the state of Louisiana, on a plane full of Dominicans to Santo Domingo chartered by the US government.
The arrest ended a project that began for Espino with its Yola trip To Puerto Rico in 2017, in which he took advantage of the catastrophe caused by the Hurricane Maria In September of that year and caused about three thousand dead on the island.
“Everyone ran to go to Puerto Rico, there was little surveillance,” Espino told Efe.
The years in the free state associated with the United States allowed him to help his family, especially his children.
“The salary here is not the same as the salary from there, here you have to fight well to win 5,000 pesos every month,” The Dominican repatriated indicated.
Another of those who left in search of opportunities was Luis Alberto Tejada35 -year -old neighbor from La Mar, who was also deported a month ago.
Tejada worked for two years as a mason in Puerto Rico, which allowed him to help reform his mother’s house in the Dominican Republic, where he lives now.
«The only problem we had was now with Donald Trump“He said.
According to Tejada, before the new American immigration policy, he and other Dominicans in an irregular situation lived peacefully.
In his case, his aunt and his brother who already lived in the “island of charm” prior to their arrival helped him.
The authorities in Puerto Rico arrested Tejada and other Dominicans who accompanied him in a bank.
«We were changing some checks. It was as if the bank had called to the authorities to be looking for us, ”he recalled.
After being arrested, Tejada was transferred to Louisiana where he remained a day retained in an irregular immigrants detention center.
“There were Dominicans, Africans, Chinese, Spanish, from all the countries of the world,” said the mason.
From Louisiana, Tejada was taken to the Krome Immigrant Detention Center, in Florida, where he was locked up for fifteen days.
“It is a very large tent, divided into two, on each side there are 126 detainees,” he said.
After those two weeks, Tejada was also deported by air to Santo Domingo on an plane that transported to another two hundred passengers.
Since he returned to the Dominican Republic, Tejada plans to continue working as a mason, specialized in ceramic placement, although he acknowledged that there are few departures in the municipality in which he lives.
Tejada would like to create more work sources “so that young people do not have to take the sea again and go to Puerto Rico.”
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