NewsWhore
07-28-2010, 03:10 PM
The Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration in the US, Eric P. Schwartz met with President Leonel Fernandez at the Presidential Palace for an hour yesterday.
The Presidency said that the visit was connected to US government initiatives to help Haiti.
Schwartz said the US is committed to providing border assistance, not only to the Dominican government, but also to non-governmental organizations that help the Haitian cause.
The visit comes on the eve of President Fernandez's one-day visit to Haiti. On Saturday the Dominican President and his Haitian counterpart will head the reactivation of the Dominican Haitian Bilateral Mixed Commission in the Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe. The commission was set up to discuss trade, migration, natural resources, environment, education, health and cultural issues.
Schwartz is known for his worldwide campaigns for reducing statelessness. He last visited in April 2010.
The Haitian Constitution grants Haitian nationality to all children of Haitian parents, but the Haitian consulate has often been reticent to grant Haitian citizenship to children born in the DR. The Dominican Constitution requires a Dominican parent or a foreigner with legal status as a requisite for granting Dominican nationality to anyone said to have been born in the DR.
The Obama administration has appointed another migration rights champion, Raul H Yzaguirre, as US Ambassador-designate to the Dominican Republic, who has had a confirmation hearing before the Senate's Foreign Relations.
"While acknowledging the strain that migrants from Haiti place on Dominican social services, if confirmed, I hope to advance a dialogue to address the problems and issues of long time residents whose immigration status is unresolved," he said in an official statement.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
The Presidency said that the visit was connected to US government initiatives to help Haiti.
Schwartz said the US is committed to providing border assistance, not only to the Dominican government, but also to non-governmental organizations that help the Haitian cause.
The visit comes on the eve of President Fernandez's one-day visit to Haiti. On Saturday the Dominican President and his Haitian counterpart will head the reactivation of the Dominican Haitian Bilateral Mixed Commission in the Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe. The commission was set up to discuss trade, migration, natural resources, environment, education, health and cultural issues.
Schwartz is known for his worldwide campaigns for reducing statelessness. He last visited in April 2010.
The Haitian Constitution grants Haitian nationality to all children of Haitian parents, but the Haitian consulate has often been reticent to grant Haitian citizenship to children born in the DR. The Dominican Constitution requires a Dominican parent or a foreigner with legal status as a requisite for granting Dominican nationality to anyone said to have been born in the DR.
The Obama administration has appointed another migration rights champion, Raul H Yzaguirre, as US Ambassador-designate to the Dominican Republic, who has had a confirmation hearing before the Senate's Foreign Relations.
"While acknowledging the strain that migrants from Haiti place on Dominican social services, if confirmed, I hope to advance a dialogue to address the problems and issues of long time residents whose immigration status is unresolved," he said in an official statement.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)