TORN AT THE SEAM Migration, Deportations, and Humanitarian Concerns on the Island of Hispaniola This report is a project of the International Human Rights Clinic, an experiential learning course in the International Law and Organizations Program at Johns Hopkins University - The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of Johns Hopkins University - The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) or Johns Hopkins University. © Copyright 2016. International Law and Organizations Program of The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). All rights reserved. Reproduction or modification for distribution or republication is permitted only with prior written consent of the International Law and Organizations Program. CONTRIBUTORS Tiffany Basciano Sheimaliz Glover Nikhil Gupta DaQuan Lawrence Tony Mueller Daniela Muhaj Deepika Padmanabhan Davide Pini Patsorn Udomritthiruj Kristina Wienhofer Leslie Wilson TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 9 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 10 Methodology .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Background ............................................................................................................................................. 14 Part A: Migratory Flows between Haiti and the Dominican Republic .................................. 21 Overview of Migration .................................................................................................................... 21 The Border: Porous, Unregulated and Now Exclusive? ......................................................... 25 Economic Factors of Migration ..................................................................................................... 27 Political Factors of Migration ......................................................................................................... 33 Social Factors of Migration ............................................................................................................. 38 Geographic Factors of Migration ................................................................................................. 47 Part B: Legal Protection Gaps - Risks for Statelessness and Expulsion or Deportation ... 51 Primary Outcomes of Regularization and Naturalization Law ............................................ 52 PNRE (Regularization Plan) ............................................................................................................ 52 Law 169-14 (Naturalization Law) .................................................................................................. 52 The Unidentified “Group C” ............................................................................................................ 55 Statelessness: Legal Vacuum, Personal Tragedy ...................................................................... 56 The Path to Haitian Citizenship .................................................................................................... 58 Potential Refugee Status in Haiti.................................................................................................. 59 Alleviating Legal Gaps ..................................................................................................................... 60 Part C: Deportations and Immigration Control in the Dominican Republic .................. 61 Lift of the Moratorium ..................................................................................................................... 62 Repatriation Protocol ....................................................................................................................... 63 Types of Border Movements ......................................................................................................... 65 Deportation Authority and Immigration Control ................................................................... 65 Deportation Procedures and Due Process ................................................................................ 67 Inadmissibility .................................................................................................................................... 71 Repatriation of Dominican Citizens ............................................................................................ 72 Voluntary Departures ...................................................................................................................... 72 Part D: Humanitarian Concerns Near the Haitian-Dominican Border .............................. 77 The Border Camps: A Snapshot .................................................................................................... 78 The Border Camps: An Overview ................................................................................................. 79 The Border Camps in Anse-à-Pitres ............................................................................................. 80 The Jimani—Malpasse Border ...................................................................................................... 81 Services and Aid in the Camps ..................................................................................................... 82 Haitian Government Responses to the Border Crisis ............................................................. 86 Private Sector Responses to the Border Crisis ......................................................................... 89 Part E: Responses to the Migrant Crisis .......................................................................................... 95 Intergovernmental Organizations ............................................................................................... 96 Foreign Governments ...................................................................................................................... 97 Media .................................................................................................................................................... 100 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 103 Recommendations for Haiti .......................................................................................................... 103 Recommendations for the Dominican Republic ..................................................................... 106 Recommendations for Both Haiti and the Dominican Republic ........................................ 109 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 113 Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................... 132 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................. 134 8 | SAIS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC 2016 The photos above were taken in informal border settlements in Haiti. They were provided by Etant Dupain and Bahare Khodabande, as part of their photojournalistic work. TORN AT THE SEAM | 9 United States, and the Embassy of Haiti in the United ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS States, as well as Michele Wucker who generously First, we would like to thank Professor took the time to meet with us in Washington, Ruth Wedgwood, Edward B. Burling Professor of DC regarding our research interests. Moreover, International Law and Diplomacy and Director of we would like to acknowledge the United States the International Law and Organizations Program Agency for International Development (USAID) Haiti, at Johns Hopkins University – School of Advanced United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees International Studies (SAIS) for her continued (UNHCR) Haiti, Etant Dupain, as well as Arian Terrill support of the SAIS International Human Rights for taking the time to speak with us. Clinic. Moreover, we would like to thank Grace We would also like to thank Etant Dupain Cineas, Andrea Martinez, Isabelle Talpain-Long and and Bahare Khodabande for contributing several Ronald Desir for their translation assistance with pieces from their photojournalistic work to our our documents for the Johns Hopkins University report. We offer a special thanks to Beneco Enecia, Homewood Institutional Review Board (HIRB) from El Centro de Desarrollo Sostenible (CEDESO), application. We would also like to thank Irene Forzoni for his immense support during our fact-finding trip. for her work on the initial background research, as CEDESO is a non-profit organization that focuses well as Nicola Hil and Tobias Åkerlund for their kind on rights in the southwest Dominican provinces, advice regarding this project. along the border, working on promotion activity We greatly appreciate all of our interview in Haiti, most recently on the nationality claims of partners in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Dominicans of Haitian descent and immigrants in including representatives of the International