Dominican Republic moves to regularize status of Haitian descendants

Legislators in the Dominican Republic have given the green light to legislation establishing a system for granting naturalized citizenship and permanent residency to people of Haitian descent born in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean country.

All 26 members of the Senate Wednesday night voted for the bill during an emergency session. It must now be officially published by President Danilo Medina to become law. The measure was introduced by Medina’s administration and the lower house unanimously passed it last week.

The Dominican Republic last year came under intense scrutiny after the Constitutional Court on September 23, last year ruled in favor of stripping citizenship from children of Haitian migrants. The decision applies to those born after 1929, a category that overwhelmingly includes descendants of Haitians brought in to work on farms.

But in defending the ruling, Dominican Republic officials said it ends uncertainty for children of Haitian immigrants, allowing them to apply for residency and eventually for citizenship.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on authorities in Santo Domingo to ensure that the ruling did not leave persons of Haitian descent in “constitutional limbo”.

Last November, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said it would defer consideration of the application by the Dominican Republic to join the regional integration grouping following the Constitutional Court ruling. -(CMC)