NewsWhore
01-07-2009, 06:00 PM
After a 24-hour occupation of a Dajabon church in protest against not being allowed their pre-arranged transport, Dominican military personnel repatriated an estimated 500 Haitian nationals. Priest Regino Martinez had opened the doors of his church to the Haitians who despite not having any legal documentation were asking to be allowed back into the DR to resume their work activities. They had traveled to Haiti for the holidays. Martinez is critical of border control inspectors who he says allow entry to anyone who pays people smugglers RD$2,500 in return for being allowed through. There are an estimated 13 military checkpoints on the routes used by the Haitians to get to their places of work. Martinez criticized the selective application of migration law and said that anyone willing to pay people smugglers gets to their jobs. He defended the people he was assisting, who had refused to pay the bribes. Several buses had been contracted to transport the Haitians. Border security corps CESFRONT and Martinez agreed that people without work IDs would return to Haiti to receive the IDs.
Former Dominican ambassador in Washington Rafael Molina Morillo commented on his morning radio talk show that neither Martinez nor Cesfront had the legal authority to reach this agreement. He said the incident just demonstrated the authorities' lack of interest in coming up with real solutions to the Haitian migration issue. Hoy newspaper reports that as a result of the incident some 800 were sent back to Haiti and another 150 with work permits were allowed to go back to their jobs.
In related news, the president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman said that the JCE is not in the business of certifying anyone's immigration status, and only issues cedulas (Dominican ID and voting cards) to people who meet the pre-established criteria.
Father Reginaldo Martinez told the Miguel Guerrero and Alicia Guerrero talk show that the border controls are corrupt. He called for the law to be applied uniformly nationwide and advocated transparent controls, and more resources for applying the law.
Migration Department director Jose Anibal Sanz Jiminian said that the 500 that occupied the church with the help of Father Regino Martinez, and another 100 that were already on buses, were part of a pre-arranged plan to distribute the workers in farms, and construction works nationwide. He said that the 500 had arrived gradually until occupying the church. He said Congress needs to pass the ruling for the better application of Migration Law passed in 2004 that would legalize the regularizing of the status of the workers.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
Former Dominican ambassador in Washington Rafael Molina Morillo commented on his morning radio talk show that neither Martinez nor Cesfront had the legal authority to reach this agreement. He said the incident just demonstrated the authorities' lack of interest in coming up with real solutions to the Haitian migration issue. Hoy newspaper reports that as a result of the incident some 800 were sent back to Haiti and another 150 with work permits were allowed to go back to their jobs.
In related news, the president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman said that the JCE is not in the business of certifying anyone's immigration status, and only issues cedulas (Dominican ID and voting cards) to people who meet the pre-established criteria.
Father Reginaldo Martinez told the Miguel Guerrero and Alicia Guerrero talk show that the border controls are corrupt. He called for the law to be applied uniformly nationwide and advocated transparent controls, and more resources for applying the law.
Migration Department director Jose Anibal Sanz Jiminian said that the 500 that occupied the church with the help of Father Regino Martinez, and another 100 that were already on buses, were part of a pre-arranged plan to distribute the workers in farms, and construction works nationwide. He said that the 500 had arrived gradually until occupying the church. He said Congress needs to pass the ruling for the better application of Migration Law passed in 2004 that would legalize the regularizing of the status of the workers.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)