DR Government Remains Inflexible with Immigration Laws

Santo Domingo  The Dominican Republic continued to insist on its sovereign right to regulate immigration, and reiterated that a foreign
citizen, Haitian or otherwise, wishing to enter Dominican territory must comply with the prescriptions of the country’s immigration laws.

In this way the government belies the version released last Wednesday night by Father Regino Martinez, director of the Border Solidarity NGO, in the sense that the government and the authorities had agreed to endorse a group of 1,080 Haitians.

The Interior and Police minister Jose Ramon Fadul, and the Director of Immigration, José Ricardo Taveras, who unveiled this official position of the government, said the country will receive any foreigner, provided they comply with the requirements established by the Migration  and Regulations Act, and the appropriate visa.

The officials referred to undocumented Haitians stranded at the border, a situation that the Dominican state has dealt with the Haitian Government through the appropriate channels, mainly with the Haitian ambassador Fritz Cineas.

“There is a high degree of sensitivity and respect for the neighboring country of Haiti and all Haitians,” said Minister of Interior and Police, who explained that the Haitian government on their own must provide documentation to their nationals and then via the legal mechanisms in the country, apply for a visa.

Fadul said that no person is authorized to issue official documentation,  not even to cross borders.
“Father Regino is not authorized to issue official documentation, neither for border crossings or as a valid intermediary for Haitian nationals and the Dominican people, as that is an exclusive power of the Haitian and Dominican officials”  Taveras said.