Roundups and more restrictions: Dominican Republic hardens measures against undocumented Haitians in the Punta Cana area, the largest tourist destination in the country

“Don’t shoot, they’re unarmed!” The screams belong to parishioners from an evangelical church that on Sunday, April 6th, arrived in the Mata Mosquito neighborhood, in the municipality of Verón-Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, to bring food and water to Haitian migrants in an irregular condition. Some of these migrants, according to one of the pastors who was there and who spoke to BBC Mundo on the condition that we don’t publish their name…

In an interview given to Radio Magik9, this Tuesday, April 15, 2025, the social worker and president of the organization "Muvman pou dwa moun, lapè avèk lajistis global", Wendy Osirus, denounced the complicit silence of the Haitian authorities in the face of the difficulties of Haitian nationals in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Osirus reported that Haitian nationals in the Dominican Republic report ransoming and young girls forced to sexual interc…

President Luis Abinader's government recently tightened its policies against irregular migration, which began in 2020, when the president took office.