Top Dominican official slams Haiti for ‘doing business’ with Regularization

Santo Domingo.- Central Electoral Board (JCE) president Roberto Rosario on Wednesday accused Haiti’s Government of "doing business" with the Foreigners Regularization Plan started last week free of charge.

"Contrary to this generous action by Dominican authorities, we’ve seen how those who should be the most interested in regularizing their citizens have been doing business with the process," the official said.

He said to obtain documents that allow them to regularize their status in the country Haitians have to pay exorbitant costs in their nation’s consular offices in the Dominican Republic.

He said Dominican Republic provides the service to those nationals free of charge, “which represents a high cost to the State,” adding that the main obstacle to regularize Haitian citizens is Port-au-Prince’s failure to issue their identity document.

"The regularization process won’t be successful unless the Haitian State helps its citizens, for the simple reason that to regularize those foreigners must have at least one primary identification paper," the office said.

Rosario said the Dominican Republic is the world’s only country that regularizes aliens free of charge, and cited the United States, where a person has to spend thousands of dollars to become a legal immigrant.

The JCE president spoke after signing an agreement with National District mayor Roberto Salcedo, to install documentation centers throughout the capital.