Nations can learn from Dominican deportations: Huffington Post

Santo Domingo.-Dominican ambassador to the United States Jose Tomas Perez on Sunday said whilemany countries around the world are struggling with a distressingly largenumber of undocumented migrants, his country has concluded a program that willbring those with irregular status out of the shadows and into a legal systemthat guarantees their human rights.

Quoted byhuffingtonpost.com, the diplomat called Santo Domingo´s legalization program “somethingwhich other countries have only aspired to accomplish.”

He said over the pastyear and a half, the two-pronged program– one for those born in the DominicanRepublic and a regularization plan for foreigners — will provide documentationand a path to citizenship for over 360,000 people who were on the margins ofthe law.

“The story of theindividuals who receive a regular status and are on a path to citizenship isinspiring. They can now hold jobs, qualify for a full array of social servicesand be fully recognized by our legal system. When people receive documentation,they receive more than a piece of paper. They receive a passport to a new life,”Perez said.

He said compared withthe U.S., his country´s program takes into account Dominican Republic´spopulation of around 10 million, will and “is nearly equivalent to the U.S.providing legal status to the estimated 11 million undocumented personsresiding in its territory.”

“While the status ofevery undocumented migrant has not been resolved and there is still much leftto do in collaboration with the U.S. and international community, the DominicanRepublic is moving forward with its commitment to promote human rights andimplement its policies in a transparent manner with the utmost respect forinternational laws and practices,” the diplomat said quoted byhuffingtonpost.com.