Hello, many thanks @angelindiskies for your question/comment, although I suppose you have answered it yourself.
To recapitulate, in 2013, according to the Dominican Constitutional Court, it was decided that people born in the Dominican Republic would not automatically be eligible for citizenship. This law was immediately viewed as prejudiced against Haitians given that, according to Le Nouvelliste, they represent some 87% of the Dominican “immigrant” population.
Today, some 200 000 individuals of Haitian origin living in the Dominican Republic risk deportation to Haiti in accordance with new regulations in regards to immigration. According to AlterPresse:
‘Starting June 17, all migrants [and especially] Haitian migrants in an irregular situation who have not registered in the Foreigners Regularization Plan may be repatriated’ after a 45-day moratorium. (Translation mine; emphasis added).
Now, it is doubtful that most of these 200 000 individuals will ever find themselves in a “regular” situation. Again, Le Nouvelliste notes that only 10% of individuals of Haitian origin in the Dominican Republic are “in order” in regards to paperwork.
The Haitian President, Michel Martelly (who is once more in the middle of scandals, this time related to the upcoming election, has expressed his willingness to treat this question with care. Le Nouvelliste quotes Martelly saying:
‘Haiti is ready to stand up straight to receive its brothers in dignity’ (Translation mine)
This is an interesting declaration considering he (and past Haitian governments) have long maintained that Haiti could not care for these people living and born in the Dominican Republic, as it was a “Dominican problem.” Therefore, it is likely that these people will become stateless and thus, unprotected by any governmental laws. Given how violence against Haitians has escalated since last summer, it can be expected to continue until some bilateral – or multilateral considering this has become a human rights issue – agreement is reached between all “interested” parties.
Thus far, the response from the international community has been slow. This may be explained by the upcoming election or by a general aloofness to this “Caribbean problem.” The OAS (Organization of American States) is currently in Haiti but, of course, its particular mandate does not prescribe that it should comment on this Haitian-Dominican crisis. We shall have to wait to see what the United Nations will have to say, if indeed, it does decide to say something and help bring a resolution to this conflict.
As I said before, while all the details of this latest crisis are not fully clear, thus far, it seems evident that this problem goes far beyond a little dispute between two Caribbean islands and really calls into question the very way in which we think about the relationship between the state and citizenship.
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