Dominican president to seek “solution” to Haitians offspring status

Santo Domingo.- President Danilo Medina on Monday promised to consult the branches of government to seek a “solution” to the status of thousands of people born in the country and of Haitian descent, who demand Dominican nationality.

The affirmation is by Ana María Belique, of the activist group Reconoci.do, Antonio Polemil, of the Dominican-Haitian Network, Roque Féliz and the priest Mario Serrano, of the Centro Bono, who spoke in the National Palace after a meeting with Medina for around 45 minutes.

"The President gave us a good reception, he was very sensitive to the situation. He understood very well what is happening and said that we will be making a process with each of the branches of government to see how to get the best solution to this problem that he understands and acknowledged to us that it’s affecting the Dominicans and Dominicans of Haitian descent," said Belique.

He said Medina "also recognized the non-retroactivity of the law that this Constitutional Court ruling is enforcing and on that basis he will continue with the dialogue in other powers of the State."

Polemil said that although Medina said that he will not interference in decisions of other branches of government, he did recognize the right of their demand. He noted that during the meeting it became clear that the issue isn’t a problem of immigrants.

Prevent abuse

Serrano said because of the high Court ruling newborns in public hospitals aren’t allowed to be registered as Dominicans, and asked Medina to intervene.

Ruling upholds what the Constitution says

When asked about the implications of the mandate, Justice minister Francisco Domínguez said the Constitutional Court ruling upholds what the Constitution says.