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BiggerDominican Republic denies discrimination against Haitians, reiterates high migration costs
Santo Domingo – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that, in view of the repeated accusations made by Haitian authorities regarding the repatriation of undocumented immigrants, which include alleged State racism, the Dominican Government considered it appropriate to reiterate to the international community its rejection of these accusations.
The institution explained that it sent the document entitled “Dominican Position on essential matters of relations with Haiti, including migration” to the country’s diplomatic corps through a diplomatic note. Likewise, the text was sent to the Dominican diplomatic missions to be communicated to the governments and international organizations to which they are accredited.
It added that the Haitian Government was notified of this document through official channels on Tuesday, October 15.
MIREX explained that in both communications, the Dominican Government rejected the accusations raised by Haitian authorities, assuring that in the country, there is no State policy to discriminate or promote xenophobia, much less mistreat people of any nationality.
The Ministry added that, in this regard, the Dominican Government remains committed to prioritizing the promotion and protection of human rights, both nationally and internationally, and therefore takes any complaint related to these issues seriously.
“The Haitian Government and the international community know very well about the effort we have deployed to bring Haiti back to normalcy. They also know the impact that the uncontrolled growth of migration has on the economy and the stability of a country. However, we have not received any sign of interest from these two sectors in supporting the Dominican Republic in its efforts to achieve better migration governance. However, we do know what we must do to guarantee our stability,” he highlighted in the document.
The Dominican Foreign Ministry also stated that the migratory flow from Haiti to the Dominican Republic dates back to the 1980s and continued to increase in the following years. Both governments signed the Protocol of Understanding on Repatriation Mechanisms between the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti in 1999.
MIREX recalled that in this agreement, the Haitian Government recognized that the Dominican Government has the legitimate right to repatriate Haitian citizens undocumented in Dominican territory and consequently committed itself to “establish migration control posts along the Dominican-Haitian border, to avoid the illegal flow of its citizens to the Dominican Republic,” and to “redouble its efforts to provide its nationals with Haitian identity documents, in the context of the potential migratory flow to the Dominican Republic.” In the document sent to diplomatic delegations, the Foreign Ministry invited to inquire whether the neighboring country has complied with its part of this commitment.
“Since the arrival of President Luis Abinader to the Government, it was decided to implement a policy of Good Neighborliness towards Haiti based on three essential axes: dialogue, mutual respect and solidarity between the two States, and therefore one of the first measures taken was to approach the Haitian Government. This led to the fact that on January 10, 2021, the president met on the border with his counterpart, Jovenel Moïse, and that together they offered a nine-point declaration that instituted a true collaboration program”, the diplomatic note indicates, adding that the agenda agreed by both presidents was truncated with the assassination of Moïse in July 2021. This event also marked a deterioration of security and institutionality in that country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added in this document that irregular immigration implies that the Dominican Government has an unsustainable economic pressure on public services offered free of charge, such as health and education.
“It is regrettable that instead of strengthening efforts to confront the Haitian crisis so that the endogenous causes of emigration from that country cease, the Haitian authorities concentrate on harassing and denouncing the actions of the Dominican Government in application of its regulatory framework, which have been recognized as legitimate by the Haitian State itself,” added the MIREX.
In this diplomatic note shared with the international community, the Foreign Ministry indicated that the Dominican Government remains open to a dialogue with Haiti, which it has been trying to sustain for years to benefit both nations.
One economy cannot handle two nations. Eventually the economy will fall. Flooded with cheap labor. It’s common sense.
Cheap labor is one of the only reason the Dominican Republic exists on the international stage. Who is building all the projects, again? That is common sense.
Dominican dan your not a Dominican you just a haitian worry about your own country.
Cheap labor is not just THE factor that determines a country development. You also need investment on infrastructure, education, foreign direct investment (FDI), political stability, a good monetary and fiscal policies, functional institutions, good governance, etc.
Haiti has a lot of very cheap labor, but unfortunately corruption, political instability and many other factors has sabotaged all opportunities of progress.
Deny is a word used very often nowadays. You only have to see first-hand and appreciate people who have explained to you what has happened to them and others to understand the validity of denial.
Imagine having to carry the burden of a failed state. Haiti’s problems are not for DR to resolve. When are they going to understand this?
It is true that Haiti’s problems are not for the DR to resolve. If we know our history, we know Haiti’s problems were specifically engineered to be what it has become. On other note, let’s not pretend that the DR are grow and stay on the international stage without the Haitians that are building it. It is not much different from the U.S. rise to power due to the slave labor fueling it.
The million dollar question is which such cheap labor. Why isn’t Haiti building their own country. Haitian Dan.
The DR has the legal right to protect its’ borders and to expel foreigners if it decides they must leave the country. If foreigners are overloading the welfare, hospital and education systems (and others), the RD has the right to take corrective actions. I support the actions of President Abinader.
As someone else said, illegal immigration began in the year 1492. Look at how quickly we forget our history. We are all violating the exact rule we are trying to enforce on Haitians. Make that make sense.
By your logic, then, if illegal immigration started in 1492, then should all Haitians be repatriated back to Africa? Because clearly they were brought here against their own will, they came and occupied a land that was not theirs….
There’s no welfare in this country ????
If you enter a country without proper permission, then you are at risk of being deported. It does not matter your race, how productive you are or how low your labor cost. You are still subject to deportation.
But if you pay the same person who arrested you, they release you. That why you see the surges around pay days, near construction and agricultural worksites.
That may be true. However, I fail to see how the behavior of some “bad apples” translates to the suspension of all immigration laws. I agree that some Haitian labor is needed, but all immigration has to be done legally. Otherwise, you are subject to deportation.
They let the millions of Colombians and Venezuela stay illegally with no issues. Dominicans also adore spain, while they are the ones who put then into slavery, in sure hating Haitians has nothing to do with skin color.
Millions? What are you smoking?… If you add up the diaspora of Colombians, Venezuelans and Spaniards living in Dominican Republic, I guarantee it doesn’t even reach one million people total. These are far smaller communities than Haitians in DR, plus the vast majority of them are in the country LEGALLY. The reason why Haitian migration is not welcomed compared to other groups is because when you have such a large influx of poor, illegal immigrants, it brings more problems to the host nation than benefits. It creates far more challenges. Add to that the difference in culture, customs and language..
All you do is spew lies and hate about any dark colored races. Every comment you make is about Haitians. There’s millions of Americans/Europeans,Colombians and Venezuelas living here illegally. You just don’t notice because they speak and look like you.
You bring up a good observation. The difference may be the way they entered DR. In the case of Venezuelans, until recently, visas were not necessary to enter DR. Plus, the fines for overstaying are anything from $50-$400 USD depending on the length of the overstay.
Moreover, legal residency can be obtained if you are a:
The caveat is that, any history of illegal immigration can count against you. Plus it is not an automatic, cheap and/or easy process for some. The costs can range between $500 to $2,000 USD or more, depending on legal fees, visa fees, and application expenses.