More than 80,000 undocumented Haitians have been arrested this year trying to enter illegally in the Dominican Republic, reported a senior military official of the neighboring country.

The head of the Dominican army, Major General José Matos de la Cruz, said the arrests were made by the division responsible for monitoring the border with Haiti, and of this total, about 5,000 were made in coordination with the General Directorate of Migration under the National Plan for the Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE).

The Dominican government began in September repatriation of undocumented immigrants residing in the country, as part of the regularization program, which was launched last year and mostly affects undocumented Haitian immigrants.

It is estimated to 458,233 the number of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic, 87.3% of the population of immigrants living in this country, according to the first national survey of immigrants whose results were published two years ago. Other organizations feel twice the presence of immigrants from Haiti in DR.

The head of the Dominican army said yesterday that members of the institution arrest daily at between 700 and 800 illegal aliens in the country, which are leads to the Directorate of Immigration for deportation.

José Matos de la Cruz said that in the border area with Haiti, which extends for about 380 km, between 300 and 400 Haitians are detained daily, according to "Plan Escudo", a campaign launched earlier this year by neighboring country to combat trafficking of person from Haiti.

Each year, thousands of undocumented immigrants are trying to enter the Dominican Republic from Haiti in search of better living conditions.

S/ HaitiLibre