Sample Letter to President Mejía

President Hipólito Mejía
Secretariado Administrativo de la Presidencia
Palacio Nacional
Avenida México esq. C/ Dr. Delgado
Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

Dear President Mejía,

I am writing to express my deep concern about the mass deportations of people of Haitian descent from the Dominican Republic.  I understand that these removals are taking place on a regular basis under a policy contrary to Dominican law. 

In recent years, thousands of Haitians have been deported and Dominicans of Haitian descent expelled from the Dominican Republic.  The most recent wave of deportations began in 1999 after the Organization of American States criticized your predecessor's government for its treatment of Haitians living on Dominican territory.  Those suspected of being Haitian – because of skin color, regardless of immigration status, are being picked up by the military, forcibly detained and then brought to the Haitian border. 

They are often taken into custody in such a manner that they are unable to even notify their families of their situation, much less take care of any other personal business they may need to attend to such as making arrangements for the care of their Dominican-born children, notifying their employers, or liquidating their belongings and obligations before being deported.  Parents are separated from children and families have no way of locating their missing members once the process has been set in motion.   

In addition, although Dominican law provides for due process to foreigners in deportation proceedings, these laws are often ignored.  For example, Immigration Law 95 specifies that foreigners must be both informed of the specific charges against them and given the opportunity to respond to them.  The Dominican Constitution (Art. 11) and the Civil Code (Art. 9) also provide for citizenship for all children born on its territory.  None of these rights, however, are respected in the case of persons "suspected" of being Haitian.  To the contrary, there is no evidence available that immigrants of other national origins are subject to similar treatment.  

I urgently request that you pursue the following options:

• The Dominican government should begin to enforce national law fairly and equitably with regard to people of Haitian descent and to bring these practices in line with the norms prescribed by international law and the American Convention on Human Rights, to which the Dominican Republic is a party.
  
  
• The Dominican government should foster deeper and more meaningful political dialogue with the Haitian government on this issue with a view to seeking lasting solutions to the migration and human rights crises.

Sincerely, 

cc:

Secretary of State of External Relations
Secretara de Estado de Relaciones Exteriores
Av. Independencia No. 752
Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

Minster of Justice

Secretary of State of the Interior
Secretaria de Estado de Interior y Polica 
Av. Francia esq. C/ Leopoldo Navarro,
Edificio de Oficinas Gubernamentales Juan Pablo Duarte, 3er Piso
Santo Domingo, República Dominicana