The recent intensification of migration measures against Haitians in the Dominican Republic has caused a major humanitarian crisis, worsening the situation of Haitian women and children, while weakening key sectors of the Dominican economy such as tourism and construction.
Mass expulsions and crisis
Since October 2024, the Dominican government has launched a mass expulsion campaign aimed at sending back up to 10,000 Haitians a week, with nearly 11,000 expulsions recorded in a single week of October 2024. This policy, justified by the authorities as a response to pressure on public services and the security crisis in Haiti, is accompanied by discriminatory practices and racial profiling, affecting even legal immigrants and those of other African or Caribbean nationalities.
Extreme vulnerability of Haitian women
Haitian women, especially those who are pregnant or have just given birth, are particularly targeted and vulnerable. A new protocol imposes the verification of papers in hospitals: in the absence of documents, women are expelled immediately after receiving care, sometimes just after giving birth. For example, on the very first day of this measure, 48 pregnant women, 39 women who had just given birth and 48 minors were arrested and transferred to detention centers.
These brutal expulsions separate families, leave children unprotected and expose women to increased risks of violence, exploitation and violations of their fundamental rights. NGOs and human rights activists denounce cases of abuse, harassment and systemic racism against Haitian migrant women.
Sexual violence and survival strategies
Although the sources quoted do not explicitly report cases of rape used as a strategy to avoid deportation, they do emphasize the extreme precariousness and vulnerability of Haitian women to all forms of violence, including sexual violence, in a context where their irregular status deprives them of recourse and protection. This situation creates a climate of impunity and fear, forcing some women to adopt desperate survival strategies, such as avoiding health structures or going completely underground, which exacerbates their marginalization and exposure to abuse.
Consequences for education and school drop-out rates
Mass expulsions also have a direct impact on Haitian children, who find themselves abandoned or separated from their families, leading to an increase in school dropouts and compromising their access to education. Children from migrant families, often undocumented, have no access to public services, making them particularly vulnerable to social exclusion and poverty.
Economic impact on tourism and construction
The Haitian workforce is an essential part of the Dominican Republic’s tourism, construction and agriculture sectors, accounting for up to 80% of workers in construction and 60% in agriculture and tourism. Mass expulsions are causing labor shortages, slowing down construction work, affecting the harvesting of agricultural produce and threatening the competitiveness of the tourism sector, particularly in Punta Cana, the flagship region of Dominican tourism. Dominican industrialists themselves are now calling for the regularization of Haitian workers in order to preserve the national economy.
Summary
Far from resolving the migration crisis, the Dominican Republic’s policy of mass expulsions is exacerbating an already dramatic humanitarian situation, particularly for Haitian women, who are exposed to violence and exclusion. At the same time, this policy is jeopardizing the country’s vital economic sectors, revealing the deep interdependence between the two nations on the island of Hispaniola.