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The Dominican Republic says it has arrested more than 130 Haitian women and children on the first day of a crackdown of undocumented migrants in Santo Domingo’s hospitals.<\/p>\n
Many of the women arrested on Monday were pregnant and others had recently given birth.<\/p>\n
The crackdown is part of the government’s plan announced last year to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants a week to stem migration from neighbouring Haiti. <\/p>\n
President Luis Abinader’s government, however, has been criticised for its harsh treatment of Haitian migrants as many are fleeing extreme gang violence and poverty in the capital Port-au-Prince.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The immigration department said the women were “offered dignified treatment” after being taken to a detention centre where their biometric data and fingerprints were recorded.<\/p>\n
A Haitian woman who had accompanied her pregnant friend to the hospital said the government’s actions will cause uncertainty for pregnant women in need of care.<\/p>\n
“If a woman gave birth today, they can’t take her today, because they don’t know what will happen. And if she has a C-section, they don’t know what is going to happen either, because there is never a doctor with her to assist if something happens on the road, with the baby or with her,” she said. <\/p>\n
Authorities said the women will receive medical treatment and any undocumented mothers will be repatriated. <\/p>\n
Many Haitians have been crossing the shared border with the Dominican Republic to escape escalating violence and hunger, sometimes in several truckloads per day.<\/p>\n
To clamp down those numbers, the Dominican Republic has deported more than 80,000 people to Haiti in the first three months of this year, according to AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
President Abinader’s government has previously voiced its frustration at the international community’s failure to restore stability to Haiti.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n