In news from the Dominican Republic, hundreds of Haitians protested to demand the return of over $100,000, which they say was paid to secure immigration papers that never arrived. Earlier this year, the Dominican Republic stripped hundreds of thousands of Haitians of their legal status and announced that it would begin deporting those who did not secure proper immigration papers. The move set thousands scrambling to secure papers, but now many say that although they paid for the documents, they have not yet arrived. Jésus Nuñez, the coordinator of the national union of sugarcane workers, spoke at the protest.
Jésus Nuñez: “We are calling for the 4,608,000 pesos (102,230 U.S. dollars) that were deposited in the BHD Bank in the name of the Haitian Embassy to be returned. Until now, not one sugarcane worker has a certificate, an identity card or a passport.”