Repatriation operations Meeting with Haiti: Migration officials assure that the human rights of immigrants are respected

The Director General of Migration (DGM), Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, ARD, along with the directors of intelligence and migration control of the institution, held a meeting with consular officials from the Embassy of Haiti in the country, headed by Ralph Giraldo Raphael, Minister Counselor, in which they discussed the protocols that guide the interdiction operations and the processing of migrants in the detention centers managed by the DGM, to whom he guaranteed that these are being executed in accordance with the General Migration Law 285-04 and its application regulations.

Lee Ballester reiterated to the diplomats that the actions of the institution he leads, its members, as well as the military and police of the institutions that support him in these tasks, are carried out in a manner that guarantees respect for and protection of the human rights of immigrants in irregular status.

He also stated that the DGM is ready to maintain dialogue and cooperation with the Haitian authorities on matters within the institution’s purview.

He pointed out the importance of the Dominican Republic in ensuring the effectiveness and transparency of immigration controls established by national, bilateral, and international regulations and agreements, in a context in which the Dominican Republic will close the year 2025 with the highest number of deportations in its history, following the provisions of the National Security Council.

Vice Admiral Lee Ballester reiterated that the General Directorate of Migration will continue to conduct interdiction operations throughout the country, carried out at various times as part of a comprehensive migration control strategy. He also reported that repatriation processes are being conducted at the border crossings of Dajabón, Elías Piña, Jimaní, and Pedernales, during the established operating hours of the binational crossings. These processes involve the orderly transfer of undocumented migrants to Haitian authorities, carried out by DGM Migration Control personnel in coordination with the Dominican armed forces and state security agencies.

Ralph Giraldo Raphael was accompanied by Dr. Hipólito Dolis, from the Legal and Immigration Affairs Department of the diplomatic mission; the Haitian Consul General in Santiago de los Caballeros, Stephen Junior Cherefant; Consul Fito Zephieren; and Vice Consul Marie Danielle Lundi. Representing the DGM were General Pilot Juan Carlos Vicente Pérez, FARD, and Colonel Manuel de Jesús Carrasco Guerrero, ERD.