– Advertisement –
Economist and political expert Faustino Collado warned that kicking out large numbers of undocumented immigrants could hurt the Dominican economy and might even cause a recession.
He spoke on the TV show El Día, saying the country’s economy is already in a risky position—especially because the United States, its biggest trading partner, might go into a recession.
He pointed out that the U.S. economy shrank by 0.3% in the first part of the year, and if it drops again between April and July, it would officially be a recession. That would badly affect the Dominican Republic which is dependent on tourism from the US and Canada, as well as various eastern European countries.
Collado said the current talk about immigration is too focused on nationalism and old-fashioned patriotism. He believes it ignores the economic facts and relies on outdated laws like the 1951 Immigration Code.
He called on Dominican leaders to think long-term and make smart immigration decisions that support the economy, instead of choosing short-term, popular actions that could do harm.
The migration issue is complex, because the Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same island, and because many Haitians were born in the DR, or are married to Dominicans, or have Dominican-born children, some of whom are Dominicans and some of whom are Haitians, or simply unregistered.
In addition, it is quite common for Haitian women to have children registered to a Dominican father who are not the biological children of the children so that the children can go to school in the DR.
Sources: Listin Diario, Dominican Today.
– Advertisement –