U.S. Embassy denies pressuring Dominican Republic on Haitian immigration

Santo Domingo.- The United States embassy has refuted claims suggesting pressure on the Dominican Republic to accommodate undocumented Haitians.

Chelsia C. Hetrick, Public Affairs Counselor at the Embassy, dismissed assertions made by Senator Marco Rubio in an opinion piece. Rubio had alleged that the United States was exerting pressure on the Dominican Republic through entities like Amnesty International.

In a statement, the counselor emphasized, “We respect the sovereignty of the Government of the Dominican Republic to safeguard its borders and enforce its immigration policies. At no point have we requested the Dominican Republic to accept influxes of undocumented migrants. We have consistently underscored the importance of upholding the rule of law, international obligations, and human rights, both within the Dominican Republic and globally.”

Senator Rubio, representing Florida, published the article titled “President Biden should not encourage illegal mass migration from Haiti” on his website, addressing pertinent issues related to the matter.

Furthermore, the counselor commended President Abinader’s administration, stating, “As we conveyed on April 12, we commend President Abinader’s government for its commitment to investigating allegations of abuse and corruption and for holding accountable the implicated officials.”