The Dominican Republic announced on Tuesday that it has deported or repatriated nearly 11,000 Haitians in the past week, fulfilling its commitment to conduct weekly deportations as Haiti grapples with an influx of individuals amid rampant gang violence and extreme poverty.
The Dominican government had previously stated its plan to deport up to 10,000 Haitians weekly, citing an “excess” of immigrants and reflecting deteriorating relations between the two countries that share the island of Hispaniola. This wave of deportations is the largest in recent history.
In response, Haitian officials have called for an emergency meeting at the Organization of American States. Gandy Thomas, Haiti’s permanent representative, condemned the deportations as “a strategy of ethnic cleansing” and characterized them as a “discriminatory campaign” against Haitians based on their nationality and skin color.
Thomas emphasized the need for dialogue and a “respectful solution,” warning that the deportations would further destabilize Haiti’s already fragile infrastructure. He highlighted that the returning deportees would face significant challenges, arriving without support, resources, or connections to their communities.
Human rights organizations estimate that at least half a million Haitians currently reside in the Dominican Republic, underscoring the deep demographic ties between the two nations and the complexities surrounding the ongoing deportation policy. The international community is closely monitoring these developments as the situation evolves.
Activists are warning that the recent mass deportations of Haitians from the Dominican Republic put the lives of thousands at risk. The situation is exacerbated by a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police, which was initiated earlier this year to address gang violence but is now facing challenges related to funding and personnel.
Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille expressed his concerns on social media platform X, stating that “the forced and mass deportation of our Haitian compatriots from the Dominican Republic is a violation of the fundamental principles of human dignity.”
The mass deportations have also led to a troubling rise in the number of abandoned children in the Dominican Republic, according to activist William Charpentier, coordinator for the National Coalition for Migrations and Refugees. He highlighted the heartbreaking reality that many children are left behind when one or both parents are taken during the deportation process, often while the children are in school.
Charpentier described the deportations as “a type of persecution against Black people and against everything they presume to be Haitian.” He further noted that even individuals with legal documentation are being detained and deported, a troubling pattern that activists claim has been observed in previous years. This situation raises significant human rights concerns and underscores the urgent need for a compassionate and just response to the ongoing crisis.
