Regularize or leave, Dominican Republic official warns immigrants

Santo Domingo.- Interior and Police minister José Ramón Fadul revealed at the National Palace Tuesday that the naturalization bill is the result of a consensus and in the hands of president Danilo Medina to send to Congress.

He called the legislation "patriotic," which once signed into law, every person covered under its provisions will have to comply. "Those who fail to abide by the regulation and who aren’t subjected to the law have to return to their country, whoever they are."

The official said hhowever that the Government’s priority is the National Regularization Plan ordered by Constitutional Court ruling 168-13.

Speaking at the National Palace after meeting with Presidency Legal adviser Cesar Pina, Fadul said it’s now up to Medina to submit the bill to Congress.

"The President, who’s a deliberating, wise man, of humane and patriotic fabric, defends national sovereignty as the whole world can see, is going to do what’s best for our country and will not bow to pressure from minority or majority groups or national or foreign forces," Fadul said. “The law is the law… for everyone".

He said the regularization of foreigners starts in June nationwide.

"This plan makes it possible to stat regularizing the country’s irregular immigrants, not only Haitians; There are Americans, Colombians, Cubans, Arabs, Spaniards, there’s everything, I think there are 79 different ones” (nationalities).