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Starting at 6:00 a.m. today, Easter Monday, agents from the Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Migration (DGM), along with military personnel, arrived at the San Lorenzo de Los Mina Maternity and Children’s Hospital to begin the immigration verification protocol announced by President Luis Abinader in 33 public hospitals across the country.
According to the immigration agents, foreigners began arriving after 7:00 a.m., and to carry out the operation, Migration set up a bus to transport undocumented foreigners.
if foreigners do not have the proper documentation when receiving care at the hospitals, a migration agent escorts them to the bus.
Clearly this plan is meant to deal with the problem of Haitians living in the country without legal papers.
The immigration department says the goal is to control who gets healthcare, enforce the law, and keep the public health system running. It is well-known that a large part of the Dominican Republic public health budget is spent on providing care to Haitians, particularly in the area of maternity services.
Under the new rules, immigration officers will check patients’ documents. These include ID cards, proof they live in the country, letters from employers, and proof they can pay.
Patients who don’t have the right documents will still get medical treatment, but once they are better, they will be sent back to their home country (which in most cases will be Haiti).
This follows a recent speech by the president where he told undocumented Haitians to leave the country or be deported.
Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, who leads the immigration office, said the plan will follow legal rules and respect human rights.
He said special care will be taken in cases involving children, pregnant women, and seriously ill patients.
Hospital staff were trained ahead of time by the immigration office and the national health service to prepare for the change.
Since October 2024, over 180,000 Haitians have been deported, even though many groups have warned that Haiti is not safe right now.
Sources: Dominican Today, Listin Diario.
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