Dominican Law Enforcement Allowed To Use Force On Haitians At The Border After Agent Got Shot

Dominican authorities have been authorized to use force on Haitian deportees after an episode where an agent got shot at. The country is currently conducting mass deportations of Haitians and seeks to expel up to 10,000 people a week.

Migration Director Luis Rafael Lee Ballester said the policy change took place after a deportee took a gun from an agent and shot him. "It means proportional use of force. An attempted attack has to be met with an answer that is proportionate to the received threat," he said.

"(Agents) are being trained to respect the dignity and the human rights of vulnerable people. But those who try to attack authorities know they will get an answer," he added.

Over 70,000 Haitians have been deported since October as a result of a stricter immigration enforcement policy. For Haitians fleeing gang violence, economic instability, and political collapse, the Dominican Republic had been a fragile refuge given the country's historical hostility. But deportees now also recount harrowing raids and alleged abuses, as reported by the New York Times.

Dominican President Luis Abinader has defended the policy, citing increasing pressure on public services. Roberto Álvarez, the Dominican foreign minister, said births to Haitian mothers in public hospitals surged to 40% of all deliveries in October, compared to 24% in 2019.

About 147,000 Haitian children are enrolled in Dominican schools, costing the nation an estimated $430 million annually, according to Minister Álvarez. He added that the international community has left the Dominican Republic to handle Haiti's spiraling crisis alone.

Haiti remains in turmoil, with gang violence having claimed over 12,000 lives and displacing nearly 800,000 people since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Close to 200 people were killed last weekend in a gang-led massacre in Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations, and killings so far this year have already topped 5,000.

While Dominican authorities insist the measures respect human rights, deportees and activists describe racial profiling, verbal harassment, and violence. One 17-year-old deportee claimed he was shot in the leg by immigration officers. "Why are all these massive abuses taking place?" asked Laura d'Elsa of the International Organization for Migration, adding that many deportees arrive injured.