Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lener Renauld says the Government is prepared to repatriate Dominicans of Haitian descent once the deadline to “regularize foreigners” expires.
Renauld presented a list of proposals during a recent meeting with officials from the Dominican Republic.
“Some criteria for deportations have been suggested to coordinate the reception of their citizens such as points and departure times. We are prepared to discuss what the Dominican Republic has done to defend human rights and defend immigrants, while enforcing our laws,” said Dominican Foreign Affairs Minister Andres Navarro.
In early May, the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad held a meeting with Haitian officials about the reparation process of the deported and denationalised citizens, unable to regain their Dominican citizenship.
“Our situation worsens because although there is a law, because the people who’ve been able to get their card and certificate are a minority,” said Elena Lorac, who was born and raised in Dominican Republic to Haitian parents.
Last Monday, Lorac joined the Denationalized People’s Solidarity Committee to urge the Government to use “maximum restraint and precaution to prevent deporting those born in the country of undocumented foreign parents.”
The tentative deadline to register for the National Plan to Regularise Aliens is June 17.
Dominican Haitian advocates are working to extend the deadline to give more people time to apply for citizenship.
