News

Latest News

Marco Rubio wants U.S. to intervene in Haiti, Dominican Republic migration crisis

Sep 29, 2015 | News

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wants the U.S. to work with the governments of the Dominican Republic and Haiti to resolve — or at least ease — turmoil between the neighboring countries over looming mass deportations.
 
In 2013, a Dominican court stripped citizenship from thousands of Dominican-born children of Haitian migrants, effectively leaving them stateless and prompting international outcry. The Dominican government now has a “registration” plan for the undocumented to legalize their immigration status, but the situation remains tense.
 
Rubio wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday asking him to reach out to the Dominicans. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio is an avid letter-writer to Kerry, especially over Cuba and Venezuela policy.
 
“I respectfully ask that you work with the Dominican government to ensure that the registration process for Dominicans of Haitian descent is fair and inclusive of those born in the country and provides them with the opportunity to live in the Dominican Republic,” the Florida Republican and 2016 presidential candidate wrote.
 
“I also ask that you work with the Government of Haiti to ensure those who decide to return to that country are treated humanely and receive appropriate assistance. It is important that all individuals who are affected by this ruling are afforded all their rights as citizens of either the Dominican Republic or Haiti and that no one is left stateless.”
 

 
Keep reading here.