SANTO DOMINGO.- Impacting the government’s immigration policy, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) yesterday detained 1,509 Haitian nationals without legal documentation and deported another 1,079 in the same irregular situation.
The operations were carried out by immigration control units in Greater Santo Domingo, where 232 undocumented individuals were arrested; 144 in Santiago de los Caballeros; 61 in La Vega; 71 in Mao/Santiago Rodríguez; 95 in the East Zone; 15 in Azua; 44 in Barahona; 19 in Puerto Plata; and 7 in Montecristi.
In inter-institutional coordination actions, the Dominican Army detained 636 people without documents proving their legal presence in the country; the Specialized Corps for Land Border Security detained 151; and the National Police detained another 34 in the same anomalous situation. The DGM also had the active support of the Dominican Navy, the Air Force, the Ciutran (National Police), the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Digesett (Digest of the Dominican Republic), among other security agencies.
The groups were detained with respect for their rights and dignity and transferred to the detention centers for undocumented foreigners established by the DGM, where their biometric data and fingerprints were taken, and they were vetted in accordance with legal precepts and in compliance with the agreements assumed by the State and its commitments to human rights.
They were later handed over to immigration authorities in their countries of origin through bilateral border crossings. 510 of them left through Elías Piña, 298 through Dajabón, 144 through Jimaní, and 127 through Pedernales.
These practices are part of the DGM’s strategic plan to combat informal immigration, human trafficking, and other irregularities that compromise public order and national security.
Communications Directorate