Much of the food grown locally in the Dominican Republic is harvested with the help of Haitian labor, creating a problem for Dominican farmers, potentially for consumers, and for Dominican immigration authorities...

Since October 2nd, 2024, Dominican farmers who rely on Haitian (illegal) labor for their production, are facing uncertainty about the harvest of their crops following the Government’s plan for weekly mass deportations of foreigners in an irregular migration situation https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43334-haiti-flash-repatriation-of-10-000-haitians-per-week-the-great-hunt-has-begun-in-the-dominican-rep.html

The Directorate General of Migration (DGM) and the Ministry of Agriculture are divided on a short-term solution that will not disrupt agriculture and production food.

Ten days ago, Limber Cruz, the Minister of Agriculture, participated in a ministerial meeting led by President Luis Abinader, which was also attended by the new Director of Migration, Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester.

Cruz wants the Government to issue Haitian workers an identity card that would include the most important data of the immigrant worker : biometric data, full name, place of work, with whom and in what agricultural activity he works.

This proposal was rejected by Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, the Director General of Migration, who said that Haitian agricultural workers must resort to traditional channels and apply for a temporary work permit (TT-1), if they want to avoid being expelled or repatriated. "The only thing we are focusing on here is compliance with the General Migration Law. This is the procedure we are going to follow. If people have legal reasons to initiate these procedures, we will consider them."

The problem with the migration law is that it requires Haitian workers to have a document proving their identity to begin the procedure. Unfortunately, even today, most Haitians on Dominican soil do not have a Haitian National Identity Card.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43334-haiti-flash-repatriation-of-10-000-haitians-per-week-the-great-hunt-has-begun-in-the-dominican-rep.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43572-haiti-flash-diplomatic-clash-between-haiti-and-the-dr.html

S/ HaitiLibre