Haitian Presidential Candidate Michelet Nestor Pens Impassioned Letter To Dominican Republic President Medina On Mass Deportations to Haiti

The following is from the Office of Monsieur Michelet Nestor, Presidential Candidate in the Upcoming 2015 Elections in the Republic of Haiti:

Dear President Medina and Immigration Director Sem, 

On behalf of the people of Haiti, I am taking this opportunity to address this letter to you in order to express my deep concern regarding the impending mass deportations that are presently under consideration in the Dominican Republic. 
 
My message to you is unequivocally clear - I ask that you halt any plans to expel thousands of people of Haitian descent from your shores.  Our storied bilateral relationship is simply not the only dynamic at stake within contemporary geopolitics.
 
As you are well aware, many of these people have never visited Haiti.  This fact is buttressed by recent international condemnation of the proposal, with acclaimed correspondents from the Guardian newspaper of Britain (as but an example) stating that “…the country [Dominican Republic] should institute some form of blanket amnesty or residency for those who have been working in the country and abiding by its laws. That way, overburdened Dominican officials could put their focus on securing their borders, instead of deporting productive members of society.”
 
I therefore ask that you assist me in not only delaying deportation legislation, but also push for an easy path to citizenship for these people.
 
Laws that penalize individuals of Haitian descent not only violate international conventions, they also create a harmful environment against all dark-skinned Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Violent acts against individuals of Haitian descent living in the Dominican Republic are nonetheless widely reported on a regular basis and have gone unabated, with non-governmental organizations and those political communities we collectively turn to for trade remaining gravely concerned about the potential for deportations to take place to anyone of Haitian descent, coupled with apprehension for the personal safety of these long-persecuted citizens. 
 
I ask you to please suspend any mass deportations in the absence of transparency regarding these protocols and in light of the disorganization and clear problems inherent in the registration process under Naturalization Law 169-14. 
 
The 169-14 Naturalization Law was meant to offer an avenue to those impacted by the 168-13 ruling to “regularize” their status, however and in reality, the law provides an unrealistic path for those affected by 168-13 to attempt to “re-register” their citizenship. Respected international media report that the offices are overcrowded, understaffed, and that much-needed paperwork doesn’t exist or apply to all (as many Dominicans of Haitian descent were born in rural areas, as their parents came to work in the sugar fields, were born via midwifes and not in hospitals, and were therefore never issued birth certificates). 
 
In closing, I ask you to please take all permissible actions to minimize the adverse impact of Constitutional Court ruling No. 168-13. Let us together create a clear path for Dominicans of Haitian descent to regain their citizenship; let us together stop all mass deportations to Haiti; and let us together afford Haitian Immigrants in the Dominican Republic the rights of due process.
 
Sincerely,
 
Michelet Nestor
Presidential Candidate, Republic of Haiti
 

Contact Information

Sam Amsterdam

Advocate

Michelet Nestor Presidential Campaign

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