Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the a statement on the humanitarian crisis in the Dominican Republic, where the government threat to repatriate several hundred thousand Haitians.

"There are almost half a million Haitians in the Dominican Republic. 288,000 people have registered for legal status to remain there, but reports indicate that ninety percent of applicants could not submit the required evidence of having been in the Dominican Republic continuously since October 2011.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals and individuals of Haitian descent are threatened with deportation from the Dominican Republic, a policy that will only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, which has not yet recovered from the earthquake in 2010, and displace many families from their homes. Many of the people scheduled for deportation were born in the Dominican Republic or have been there for almost their entire lives [...] In addition, I am deeply concerned about the policy of requiring Haitians to carry documents proving their legal status in the Dominican Republic to avoid arrest [note HL: all nationalities are concerned], which recalls the policy of South Africa under apartheid in which Black people were required to carry a passbook in order to travel. Without jobs in Haiti or families to support them or homes in which to live, these displaced families will suffer the depredations of extreme poverty.

I urge the Government of the Dominican Republic to reconsider this deportation policy and to work with the community of nations in the Caribbean to prevent this unnecessary crisis from occurring.

With my colleagues in Congress and with the Department of State, I will work to prevent the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and people of Haitian descent from their homes."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14293-haiti-notice-free-assistance-program-for-the-voluntary-return-of-foreigners.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14281-haiti-dominican-republic-the-exodus-of-haitians-is-growing.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14234-haiti-flash-dominican-details-of-the-repatriation-process.html

SL/ HaitiLibre