*Dark-skinned citizens in the Dominican Republic are reportedly being warned about migration agents mistaking them for Haitians in the Caribbean country.
The U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic reportedly sent out an alert to all citizens urging them to have their U.S. passports at all times and their cell phones charged.
The embassy says that officials in the county have been conducting “widespread operations” to detain illegal immigrants, specifically ones from Haiti.
“These actions may lead to increased interaction with Dominican authorities, especially for darker skinned U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens of African descent. There are reports that detainees are kept in overcrowded detention centers, without the ability to challenge their detention, and without access to food or restroom facilities, sometimes for days at a time, before being released or deported to Haiti,” the alert says, as reported by MSN.
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In a statement to the Associated Press, the Dominican Foreign Ministry denied media reports about the mistreatment of immigrants.
“The Dominican government never could have imagined there would be such a harsh insinuation made about our country, much less from an ally that has been subject to accusations of xenophobic and racist treatment of migrants, including in parts of its own population,” the statement said.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a 240-mile border, and ongoing tensions remain high between them following the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise in 2021.
We reported previously that Moïse was assassinated after a group of people attacked his private residence. First Lady Martine Moïse was hospitalized following the attack on the 53-year-old leader.
Interim Premier Claude Joseph condemned what he called a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act.”
Moïse had been ruling Haiti by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections, which led to Parliament being dissolved. He took office in early 2017, following a chaotic election that forced the appointment of a provisional president to serve during a year-long gap.
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