State Senator Raoul Calls for Pressure on Dominican Republic to End Deportations

Senate resolution draws attention to plight of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent in D.R.

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago 13^th) introduced a resolution, which the Illinois Senate adopted, calling on the U.S. government to use sanctions and/or other penalties to pressure the government of the Dominican Republic to end the discriminatory deportation of residents of Haitian descent, many of whom were illegally trafficked into the country to work in its sugarcane fields.

“The Dominican Republic has a shameful history of benefitting economically from the cheap or free labor of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent, and in this system that has been described as modern-day slavery, one constant has been the establishment of barriers to legal citizenship, even for those born in the Dominican Republic,” Raoul said. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits nations from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their citizenship, but this is precisely what the Dominican Republic has done, and the United States needs to take a stand for international law and the basic rights of oppressed people.”

In 2010, an amendment to the Dominican Constitution removed its birthright citizenship provision; three years later, the nation’s Constitutional Court applied this amendment retroactively, effectively denationalizing hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent. Subsequently, the government required all migrants and non-citizens to prove that they arrived in the country before October 2011 and either have jobs or are attending school, or else face deportation. By the June 17 deadline, many affected individuals – particularly those who had been brought into the country illegally in the first place – were unable access official documents proving their status. Although the deadline has been extended, an estimated 40,000 persons, fearing sudden deportation, separation from family members and the loss of their belongings, have already left the Dominican Republic for Haiti, where many lack employment and housing and where the sudden population increase is contributing to the lingering humanitarian crisis in that nation.

“More than 200,000 men, women and children are still at risk of deportation, and violence against Dominicans of Haitian descent is escalating,” Raoul said. “I’m proud that the Illinois Senate is taking a stand against the human rights violations that are taking place and urging the United States government to act quickly.”