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Haitian migration in the Dominican Republic: A synthesis of the literature.

Author: Hilario Castillo RN, BSN, ACNP student
Source: online articles, publications
Abstract: in the past few years, Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic has increased dramatically
especially after the 2010 earthquake. There are 668,145 Haitian migrants in the D.R. according to
official reports, an amount considered inaccurate by most Dominicans and experts which claim there are
2-3 million Haitians in the country. This means that Haitian migrants in the D.R. account for 6.7% of the
population at the most conservative figures and 20-30% of the population by Dominican civilian and
expert estimates. Dominicans tend to migrate legally to other nations, more so than many other migrant
groups. According to a migration policy study; nearly all immigrants from the Dominican Republic obtain
lawful permanent residence in the United States (also known as getting a green card) through family
reunification, whereas very few come through employment channels. For the most part, immigration
from the Dominican Republic is legal. The study estimates that in the world there are approximately 1.3
million Dominicans (13% of the Dominican population), of which 1,299,668 are distributed in 20
countries, with the United States (940,874), Spain (152,369) and Puerto Rico (57,981) being the
destinations of greater concentration. Undesa 2015 reports 1,195,240 Haitian migrants worldwide,
while "less conservative" reports from the International Organization for Migration (IOM 2015) indicate
that there are more than 2.5 million Haitian migrants , with the United States (907,790) and the
Dominican Republic (668,145) being the most common destinations (El Caribe, 2016). This means that
Dominicans make up approximately 0.3% of the U.S., and 1.6% of the Puerto Rican population
respectively. A figure that is much less that the official 6.7% of Haitian migrants in the D.R. considering
the most conservative figure and 20-30% of the population by Dominican civilian estimates.

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Is Haitian migration in the Dominican Republic comparable to Dominican migration throughout the
world? Should Dominicans be condemned for attempting to deport undocumented migrants?

With a population of approximately 10.7 Million people, the Dominican Republic is also home to the
largest unreported migration of undocumented Haitian nationals in the world. To understand the
significance and burden on the Dominican economy, one must consider various factors. For instance;
Haiti which shares the island of Hispaniola with the D.R. is considered a failed state and the poorest
nation in the western hemisphere. The Dominican Republic is also a poor third world nation with a total
land area of 48,315 Km2 (worldometers, 2017). Compare this to the current population of the
U.S. which is approximately 326 Million with a total land area of 9,155,898 Km2. The U.S. is about 202
times bigger than the Dominican Republic.

Economics:

D.R. GDP $161.9 billion (2016 est.), GDP - per capita (PPP): $15,900 (2016 est.), Population below
poverty line: 30.5% (2016 est.). Compared to U.S. economy: GDP $18.56 trillion (2016 est.), GDP - per
capita (PPP): $57,300, (2016 est.), Population below poverty line: 15.1% (2010 est.)(CIA World Fact
2017). This means that D.R. is not only a much smaller nation than the U.S., but is also much poorer.

Migration:

There were approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2015. Unauthorized
immigrants represented 3.4% of the total U.S. population in 2015 (pewresearch 2017). Compare that
with 668,145 Haitian migrants in the D.R. according to official reports, an amount considered inaccurate
by most Dominicans and experts which claim there are 2-3 million Haitians in the country. This means
that Haitian migrants in the D.R. account for 6.7% of the population at the most conservative figures and
20-30% of the population by Dominican civilian and expert estimates. Furthermore, Dominicans tend to
migrate legally to other nations, more so than many other migrant groups. According to a migration
policy study; nearly all immigrants from the Dominican Republic obtain lawful permanent residence in
the United States (also known as getting a green card) through family reunification, whereas very few
come through employment channels. For the most part, immigration from the Dominican Republic is
legal. In 2012, approximately 960,000 immigrants from the Dominican Republic resided in the United
States. Of them, 50 percent were naturalized U.S. citizens (versus 46 percent naturalized among all
immigrants). DHS data show that on January 1, 2012, approximately 490,000 of the 13.3 million lawful
permanent residents (LPRs) residing in the United States (or about 4 percent) were from the Dominican
Republic; 310,000 of these green-card holders from the Dominican Republic were eligible to become
U.S. citizens but had not done so as of that date. Of the 42,000 foreign born from the Dominican
Republic who received their green cards in 2012, the majority were much more likely to immigrate as
spouses, minor children, or parents of U.S. citizens (52 percent) or as other family-sponsored immigrants
(47 percent) than the total LPR population (46 percent and 20 percent, respectively) (Migration Policy,
2014).

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Dominican solidarity:

In addition, out of all the nations in the world the Dominican Republic has been the most solidarity
nation with its neighbor. After the devastating earthquake in 2010, according to CNN; The Dominican
Republic was the first country to give aid to Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. The
Dominican Republic's outpouring of support to Haiti is a reminder of how the less-than-friendly legacy
between the two nations has been buried even deeper. Among the aid were 10 mobile cafeterias that
can produce 100,000 meals a day, and heavy equipment to remove debris, Diaz Rua said (CNN, 2010).

Medical:

Furthermore, 8,500 Haitian births a year are carried out every year in Dominican hospitals in the
northern region and the border of the Dominican Republic, which, after giving birth, most are still living
in the country according to estimates. More than five billion pesos ($120 Million USD) the D.R.
government spends annually in care for Haitian pregnant women, many brought by mafias to give birth
in hospitals in the country, said the director of the National Health Service (SNS), Dr. Nelson Rodrguez
Monegro (El Nacional, 2017). Moreover, Around 20% of the deliveries that take place in the Maternidad
Nuestra Seora de la Altagracia hospitals in the capital city and the San Lorenzo de Los Mina hospitals in
Santo Domingo East belong to women of Haitian nationality.

Education:

In addition, Of the 2.8 million students enrolled in the national education system at the basic and
secondary levels, some 48,000 are of Haitian nationality, equivalent to 68.5% of the foreign student
population (Listin Diario, 2016). These figures refer to documented Haitians or Haitian students.
However, public schools also receive undocumented Haitian children, but only until they reach the
eighth grade. From then on they require documents to follow their studies. According to the Survey on
Expenses of Foreign Students in the Dominican Republic, published by the Central Bank, for 2009 the
nationality that had a greater number of students in the universities was Haitian with 4,067 enrolled,
reaching 51% of the total foreigners . For 2012, it increased to 73.5% with 5,025 students, and in 2014
reached 66% with 6,323 students. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (Unesco), more than 12,000 Haitian students are enrolled in 23 Dominican public and
private universities, representing 66% of foreign students. The vast majority study careers such as
Medicine, Nursing, Business Administration, International Relations, Civil Engineering and Tourism (El
Dinero, 2015). The professor and researcher of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in
the Dominican Republic Matas Bosch estimates an expenditure of about US $ 60 million in pre-
university students (BBC, 2015).

Despite this solidarity, Dominicans are labeled as racist and xenophobes by many NGOs and nations
when they have attempted to enforce their migratory laws as a sovereign state. For instance, CARICOM
which is made up of nations such as the Bahamas has been under fire for their treatment of Haitians. Yet
the focus seems to be on the allege racism or discrimination against Haitians by the Dominicans.
According to the Miami Herald; RKC has voiced concerns about the possible deportations and the
treatment of Haitians in the Bahamas. It recently co-filed a complaint with the Inter-American

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Commission on Human Rights alleging that detainees at the Carmichael Detention Center in Nassau
were being housed in inhumane conditions. This month the commission called on Bahamian officials to
improve the centers conditions. The majority of the detainees are Haitian migrants who have been
targeted for deportation since a new immigration policy went into effect in the Bahamas on Nov. 1.

The Bahamian government has called the concerns about the center overstated and inaccurate. It did
acknowledge, however, that it has a report addressing the conditions at the detention center.
McMullen says while he has detected some reticence on the part of Caribbean leaders to criticize the
Bahamas for its broken immigration system, they need to be as vocal as they have been about the
Dominican Republic. In 2013, Caricom strongly criticized the Dominican Republic after its Constitutional
Court revoked citizenship of anyone born to immigrants without proper documentation dating back to
1929. Caricom also put the countrys application to join its 15-member regional bloc on hold until the
issue is resolved. St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who led the criticism of the Dominican
Republic on behalf of Caricom, said while he is awaiting an explanation from the Bahamas on how its
situation differs from the Dominican Republic, he believes the issues are different. He also believes the
Bahamas has shown more sensitivity than the Dominican Republic in trying to address undocumented
Haitian migrants in its country of 300,000 (Miami Herald, 2015).

Another accusation the Dominicans face from foreign nations is one that claims Dominicans migrate in
large amounts as well and therefore they should be more acceptable of the Haitian migration in the D.R.
Upon analysis of the data one can conclude that this claim is not supported by facts. For instance, the
report "State of migrations affecting the Dominican Republic" of the Center for Migration Observation
and Social Development in the Caribbean (OBMICA) shows that there are more than 1.3 million
Dominicans abroad. The study estimates that in the world there are approximately 1.3 million
Dominicans (13% of the Dominican population), of which 1,299,668 are distributed in 20 countries, with
the United States (940,874), Spain (152,369) and Puerto Rico (57,981) being the destinations of greater
concentration. Undesa 2015 reports 1,195,240 Haitian migrants worldwide, while "less conservative"
reports from the International Organization for Migration (IOM 2015) indicate that there are more than
2.5 million Haitian migrants , with the United States (907,790) and the Dominican Republic (668,145)
being the most common destinations (El Caribe, 2016). This means that Dominicans make up
approximately 0.3% of the U.S., and 1.6% of the Puerto Rican population respectively. A figure that is
much less that the official 6.7% of Haitian migrants in the D.R. considering the most conservative figure
and 20-30% of the population by Dominican civilian estimates.

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Results:

The data indicates that D.R. has a greater number of Haitian migrants in their country per square
mileage than any other nation except for Haiti itself. D.R. spends more resources on educating Haitians
than any other nation, and spends more of their healthcare GDP on Haitian migrants than any other
nation. Furthermore, the Haitian migration in D.R. is not comparable with Dominican migration to other
nations. Haitian migrants account for nearly 7% of the official documented migrants in D.R. and if the
unofficial numbers are considered, it would be 20-30% of the population in D.R. and largely of
undocumented Haitian migrants. On the other hand, Dominican migration to other nations is mainly via
a legal pathway and make up less than 0.5% of the U.S. population and 1.6% in P.R. The data clearly
shows the solidarity Dominicans have with Haitians, a factor that should be considered and
acknowledge before accusing D.R. of being racist or xenophobes when they make attempts to deport
undocumented Haitians and other migrants from their nation.

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References

$5 mil millones Gasta RD al ao en partos de haitianas - El Nacional. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://elnacional.com.do/5-mil-millones-gasta-rd-al-ano-en-partos-de-haitianas/

5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S. | Pew Research Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/27/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/

Dominican Republic aid to Haiti eases historic tensions - CNN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake.dominican.republic/index.html

Dominican Republic Population (2017) - Worldometers. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/dominican-republic-population/

El Caribe 20% de los partos en maternidades del GSD son de haitianas. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2014/07/01/20-los-partos-maternidades-del-gsd-son-haitianas

El Caribe Revelan cantidad de dominicanos en el extranjero es similar a la de haitianos en RD. (n.d.).

Retrieved from http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/12/14/revelan-cantidad-dominicanos-extranjero-
similar-haitianos

Immigrants from the Dominican Republic in the United States | migrationpolicy.org. (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrants-dominican-republic-united-states

Observatorio - Estudio revela hay 48,000 haitianos en sistema educativo dominicano | Listn Diario.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2016/08/26/432778/estudio-revela-
hay-48000-haitianos-en-sistema-educativo-dominicano

Situacin educativa de los haitianos en Repblica Dominicana. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.eldinero.com.do/14477/situacion-educativa-de-los-haitianos-en-republica-dominicana/

The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html

Thousands march in Haiti over Dominican racism | Miami Herald. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article11180039.html

Cunto invierte Repblica Dominicana en los haitianos? - BBC Mundo. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/06/150623_republica_dominicana_costos_inmigracion_hai
tianos_lavnudista

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