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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WANTS HAITIANS OUT; SO DOES EVERYBODY ELSE.

Article Excerpt
The Senate of the Dominican Republic has passed a resolution to request that the government deport Haitians living illegally in the country. The measure asks President Leonel Fernandez to order immigration and police authorities to determine the status of Haitians in the country and deport the illegal Haitians. The resolution read in part, "The streets, avenues, highways, the country, and the city are filled with Haitian nationals." Official estimates are that there are around one million Haitians fitting the description (see NotiCen, 2004-04-01).

The author of the resolution, Sen. Enriquillo Reyes, said the border had turned into "a no man's land," with Haitians crossing "as if it were the door to their house." Armed Forces Minister Sigfrido Pared responded on national TV that border control is "difficult." Deportations are already taking place at the rate of about 100 a day through Dajaban, and 211 undocumented Haitians are imprisoned in Santiago.

A human rights issue on both sides

Pared said that, with the backing the resolution provides, the deportations and arrests would continue and that human rights would be respected. President of the Comite Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) Virgilio Almanzar in the Dominican Republic had concerns for rights issues on...

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