SANTO DOMINGO.- During the course of last February, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) returned 26,659 Haitian nationals detained for violating Dominican immigration regulations to their country of origin, bringing the number of those expelled to 151,883 in the last five months, since the Government implemented the expanded plan to interdict and contain the flow of foreigners.
As a result of 255 daytime and nighttime interdiction operations in the country’s different provinces, the DGM deported 12,101 undocumented immigrants and repatriated another 14,558, in actions that involve intelligence measures and inter-institutional and international collaboration, to biometrically identify each of the detainees and track whether they have criminal or other records.
As a result of these operations to reinforce security and order in the migratory flow, developed within a comprehensive strategy and with a schedule in which the routes, schedules and members of each interdiction team are previously defined, networks dedicated to the illicit trafficking of migrants have been dismantled and document falsifiers and identity theft victims have been arrested.
The interdictions were carried out in Greater Santo Domingo, La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, Azua, Santiago Rodriguez, Moca, Duarte Province, Loma de Cabrera, Dajabon, Valverde, Monte Cristi, Barahona, Peravia Province, La Altagracia, Montecristi, La Vega and Santiago de los Caballeros, and were carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Defense, the National Army, the Dominican Navy, the Dominican Air Force, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Digesett, the Ciudad Tranquila Task Force and other government entities.
According to DGM statistics, 9,586 men and 2,515 women were deported last February. They were processed with their rights guaranteed, their dignity respected and their physical integrity and life at risk. Of those deported, 8,386 left from the Haina detention center; 1,931 from Dajabón and 1,784 from Santiago. Those repatriated were: 4,847 from Dajabón; 4,311 from Elías Piña; 2,910 from Jimaní and 2,490 from Pedernales.
The DGM also records that last October, when Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester assumed the direction of the institution and under the directives of President Luis Abinader for the execution of the expanded interdiction plan, 40,223 Haitian nationals were returned to their country. In November there were 28,703; in December 25,085, and 31,213 last January.
In parallel to the land operations, the DGM also concentrated its efforts on strengthening controls at ports and airports, implementing measures to prevent the irregular entry and exit of people. Immigration services have also been optimized, ensuring greater efficiency in verification and inspection processes.
These actions are part of a comprehensive security strategy, developed in coordination with other government entities, with the aim of strengthening migration order, combating human trafficking and guaranteeing national sovereignty, always acting within the framework of due process and respect for human rights.
Communications Department