President Medina signs controversial nationality bill into Law

Santo Domingo.- President Danilo Medina on Friday signed into Law legislation approved by Congress Wednesday which expedites naturalization and grants nationality to offspring of foreigners irregularly enrolled in Dominican Reublic’s Civil Registy.

When making the announcement, Presidency legal adviser Cesar Pina said Law 169-14 will enact the regulation, which “in general sense isn’t needed enforce most of the articles of that norm.”

The official said the Law features two methods for those born in the national territory of illegal aliens and those enrolled irregularly in the civil registry to obtain nationality: the first is by registering those offspring of foreigners born in the Dominican Republic and the other is through naturalization.

The controversial legislation spurred heated debate between liberal and conservative sectors over how the government will document the tensof thousands of people of Haitian descent who could qualify for Dominican nationality.