Deportations and repatriations are more humane, orderly and safe.
Dajabón. __ The General Directorate of Migration inaugurates a new processing center for interdicted persons with the aim of providing foreigners with a cleaner, more humane, safer and more organized place.
Interdicted foreigners remain in that place for 24 hours and are then deported to their country of origin in accordance with the provisions of Law 285 – 04 and the implementing decree 631 – 11.
The event was led by President Luis Abinader and the Minister of the Interior and Police, Jesús Vásquez Martínez. In this regard, Venancio Alcántara, director of Migration, added that the Government administration headed by Abinader is the one that has deported the most foreigners in an irregular condition, doubling all of its predecessors.
Migration, which has assumed a more humane, more orderly and safer role, has completed other processing centers for the interdiction of foreigners, one in Benerito, Higüey, in Santiago, Elías Piña and Jimaní. In the next few days, the remodeling of the center in Haina will be reopened.
Full speech by the Director General
It is an honor to be gathered here today for the inauguration of this Foreigner Interdiction Processing Center in the province of Dajabón. As Director General of Immigration, this day represents a significant institutional achievement, reaffirming our commitment to security and order on our border.
Dajabón, as a border province, plays a crucial role in our country’s migration management. This new center will strengthen our capacity to properly process the entry and exit of people, in addition to serving as a coordination center for the exchange of information with other national and international agencies.
I would like to highlight the commitment of President Luis Abinader’s government to humane, orderly, and safe migration management, as well as the clear mandate to comply with our General Migration Law 285-04. We have new centers in the provinces of Jimaní and Elías Piña, in addition to Dajabón, the latter with an investment of 21 million pesos, as well as renovated ones in Benedicto, Higüey, Santiago, and Haina. Some of these centers operated in spaces shared with other institutions, and due to the delicate nature of our work, they needed their own facilities.
It is essential to note that Migration’s statistics on repatriations date back to 2016. In the period 2016-2020, there were 226,486 repatriations, and from 2020 to June of this year, we have repatriated 1,260,686 people, demonstrating our firm commitment to orderly and safe migration.
It is important to mention that interdiction centres, where fingerprints are taken and statuses are validated, have always existed. Our new vision focuses on modernising them and ensuring that they are dignified spaces for all foreigners, whose stay usually lasts 24 hours or less.
By opening this Alien Interdiction Processing Center, along with the other 5 centers, we reaffirm our responsibility to work hard to protect our sovereignty, maintain the security of our citizens, and ensure that our immigration laws are enforced fairly and effectively.
At this center in Dajabón, the services of our immigration department will be operating, including certifications for minors for all surrounding provinces.
May this center not only be a place of work, but a symbol of respect for the law and an opportunity for the comprehensive development of the Dajabón community. I am sure that together we will reach new levels of efficiency and excellence in the migration management of our country.
Thank you to Inespre for giving us this space, and to Public Works in the person of Minister Deligne Ascensión for all the support, as well as to the other allied institutions!
God bless the Dominican Republic!