Immigration aims to legalize qualified foreign workers

Santo Domingo.- The Immigration Agency will enforce the Foreigner Naturalization Law 169, after the extension issued last expired Sunday, director José Ricardo Taveras announced Wednesday.

In a meeting with the Chamber of Deputies Special Committee which studies a draft condemning the recent incidents with Dominican Consulate staff in Anse Pitre, Haiti, the official said Immigration needs additional funds to carry out the task.

He said inspection units are needed to go to workplaces to legalize the workers who qualify. “Otherwise, we must enact an intelligent deportation policy for citizens of all nationalities.”

The official said the country has to articulate a policy to organize the labor market, which should involve several government agencies such as Immigration and the Social Security Council, among others.

Taveras said the government has to proceed in one direction to achieve success in the "geopolitical" and not just the country’s migratory problem.

He noted that Law 185-04 bans seasonal workers in the tourism or free zone sectors.

"We share a small island and the neighboring state has been unstable for 20 years, intervened by the United Nations Stabilization Mission," Taveras said.