Immigration

Here is a picture of Former Maryland Governor, Martin O'Malley, as he is raising the issue of the Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic. He has called on the United States government to speak up against the deportations of Haitian migrants there.

Martin O'Malley, the U.S. Presidential candidate has openly showed his empathy for the Dominican-Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic. He has showed his support from them and in a radio interview said that it was an inhumane act by the DR government. He has expressed his astonishment as to why the US government has not acted to the circumstances. He said that the strengthening of bonds among the American and Caribbean countries is a key to the progress of USA. O'Malley, who has been the governor of Maryland twice, has extended his helping hand towards the deported and promised improved healthcare facilities and creation of an agency for ensuring the eligible immigrants.

Permalink | Comments

Here is a picture of Haiti's Reception Center for Returnees at Malpasse following mass deportation of undocumented Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent.

Malpasse situated in the Ouest Department of Haiti, is one of the four land connections between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To combat problem of statelessness of the Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic, the Haitian government reportedly set up reception centres at Malpasse. But these so called reception centres are far from capable to accommodate the deported people. The reception centre at Malpasse is nothing more than a flimsy plywood hut in the midst of desert of white gravel. The government had declared in June that the reception centres were ready to welcome the Haitians, but the reality of the situation is rather miserable. The migrants are in a devastated, homeless and stateless condition in Haiti.

Permalink | Comments

Here is a picture of a family in Malpasse who just arrived with children> They don't know anyone in Haiti. This family is among the newly-deported Dominican-Haitians

First Deportees arrive in Malpasse: Martelly denies their existence

Fond Bayard school in Malpasse, near the Dominican-Haitian border, has been converted into a shelter for Dominican-Haitians, recently deported by the DR.

A significant number of deportees are Dominican-born Haitians, descendants of Haitian migrants. According to the Dominican Constitution they have legal status. But a Constitutional Court ruling says they must leave since they don't have the proper papers for citizenship status.

Haitian President Martelly has turned his back on the deportees, ensuring they remain stateless.

Permalink | Comments

Mayor Martin Walsh urges Dominicans to reverse course in regard to the deportation of Haitians and Dominican-Haitians

Boston Mayor tells DR to stop Deportations

Boston Mayor Walsh responded to the Dominican Republic's intention to exile Dominican-born Haitians, stating it was ". . . troubling to see a . . . country target a minority group for exclusion" He exhorted the DR to not proceed with deportations; instead to be aware of ". . . the value of diversity . . ."

Walsh joins NYC Mayor Di Blasio in condemning the DR's "immoral" and "racist" policy.

Permalink | Comments

Immigration assistance is accomplished through the Refugee Services Program located in Miami. The agency helps new immigrants land jobs, learn English, get health care, and seek legal advice if needed.

The Florida Department of Children and Families coordinates the Refugee Services Program. It applies for federal grants to provide services and receives them through a competitive contract procurement procedure. Cash and medical assistance lasts for eight months once the immigrant arrives in the country.

Tallahassee, Florida
32399-0700
Phone: (850) 487-1111
Fax: (850) 922-2993
Contact Refugee Services:

Miami 786-257-5173 | Lourdes_Leconte@dcf.state.fl.us
786-457-3561 | Erica_Perdomo@dcf.state.fl.us

Pensacola & Tallahassee 850-778-4065 | Theresa_Leslie@dcf.state.fl.us

Jacksonville 904-485-9540 | Debbie-Ansbacher@dcf.state.fl.us

Orlando 407-317-7336 | Pedro_Padua@dcf.state.fl.us

Tampa & Naples 813-545-1716 | Janet_Blair@dcf.state.fl.us

Ft. Lauderdale & West Palm Beach 561-227-6722 | Miriam_Rosario@dcf.state.fl.us

Permalink | Comments

Here is a picture where several Dominican Haitians are waiting for regularization of their papers on the Dominican Republic to avoid deportation.

On 18th June, a group of about 1,500 sugarcane workers filed for an injunction in the Superior Administrative Court against the Ministries of Interior and Police, Foreign Affairs, the Presidency, the Central Electoral Board and Immigration Agency to prevent their deportation along with their families.
They prayed to obtain recognition as government contractors. The Court's 1st Civil Chamber has been scheduled for a hearing on July 25th.

There were thousands of confused Haitian undocumented immigrants, including elderly, babies and children were seen among those spending sleepless nights, lined up outside the government regularization processing offices to establish their right to remain in the Dominican Republic or otherwise face deportation.

Permalink | Comments

Here is a picture of several undocumented Haitians Dominican Sugar cane Workers wait in long lines seeking to establish their legal residence.

The objective of the repatriation was aimed at regulating the continuous flow of migrants from impoverished Haiti to the relatively wealthier D.R. As per Interior Ministry's statement, there could be about 500,000 prospective applicants for residency under the program and of whom about 50,000 people would have a fair chance of granting citizenship. However, as of Wednesday, June 17, about 250,000 people have been registered and as per the officials, only about 10,000 have submitted sufficient required documents. In the final weeks, the number of applicants was far beyond, exceeding the serving capacity of the 36 processing centers under National Plan of Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE), and that made a disorganized process even worse. Many people have all the required documents but could not register due to lack of money, work schedule and overcrowded jumbled serving counters. There were few complaints that some police officers were providing preferential treatment in exchange for bribes.

Permalink | Comments

Here is a picture marking the end of the time allowed for Haitian migrants looking to establish their residence in the Dominican Republic before a midnight deadline.

In October 2013, the constitutional court of the Dominican Republic announced a decision that stripped an estimated 210,000 people -- about 2% of the country's population -- of their citizenship overnight, most of whom were Haitians and many Dominicans of Haitian descent. However, the government later softened its decision on mounting international pressure and allowed people with birth certificates to "validate" their citizenship, and those without them to register as foreign migrants, but however, with at least one parent must be a citizen or legal resident of D.R in each situation, within a deadline on June 17, 2015, 7:00 pm.

Permalink | Comments

There has been an ongoing issues of fraud with Haitians applying for visa in the U.S. ant the American government wants to bring the attention of the Haitian public to this crisis. The anti-fraud department for the agency responsible for dealing with such issues has reported recently to have recorded an alarming record of about 11,000 cases of fraud by Haitians in applying for U.S. Visas.

On May 17, with the alarming rate of visa assistance and application frauds, Robert Hannan, the US Consul General in Haiti has described the right process for applying and procuring U.S visa. There were about 11,000 instances of visa applications where the applicants have given wrong information about their family, financial and professional backgrounds. Mr. Hannan has urged every applicant to provide only truthful information. The U.S department has informed every applicant to contact directly at the US Embassy for every visa update; the department does not authorize any intermediary person or authority in visa assistance service. Visa application fees are to be deposited directly to the SogeXpress only and another at the US Embassy in exchange of the visa.

Permalink | Comments

Here is a picture that has been seeing in many social media recently. The Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the US for Sophia Martelly.

To tell you the truth. I have never seen Certificate of Loss of Nationality before. According to the news, First Lady Sophia Martelly who was born in New York City has decided to reject the nationality of the United to adopt the Haitian nationality

Permalink | Comments