(24 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – 23 July 2025
1. Protesters in front of the National Congress in demonstration against a possible plan to regularize foreigners
2. People wearing black clothes, boots and berets, marching with a banner showcasing former Domincian presidents (left to right) Danilo Medina, Leonel Fernandez, Luis Abinader, Hipolito Mejia
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ángelo Vásquez, president of the Ancient Dominican Order:
“Why are business owners advocating for a new regularization of Haitians? Because that way they don’t pay taxes, you don’t have to insure them, they prefer to Haitianize the country than pay a decent wage to the Dominican people, and we cannot allow that.”
4. Protesters with signs reading (Spanish): “Diaspora present. We don’t want to be foreigners in our own country” “No more Haitian regulation”
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rosalía Minyeti, Dominican resident in U.S.:
“No regularization, no to the (Haitian) invasion. Let’s organize another march for the schools because I saw more than 20 Haitian children and only one Dominican child, and the Dominicans are studying in containers. What is that?”
6. Ruth García holding sign reading (Spanish): “Regularization is not the solution; it only multiplies the invasion”
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ruth García, member of the Ancient Dominican Order:
"It’s not that we’re xenophobic, we’re just tired of Dominicans being denied opportunities that are given to Haitians.”
8. Protesters marching
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of Dominican citizens protested on Wednesday in front of Santo Domingo’s National Congress in opposition to what they say is a plan that seeks to regularize foreigners which the government intends to implement.
Speaking in May, the country’s minister for work said he was working with the construction industry on a plan to regularize foreigners, the majority of them from neighbouring Haiti.
The demonstration was organized by a right-wing group called “La Antigua Orden Dominicana” (The Ancient Dominican Order).
The ultra-nationalist organization claims that the government is under pressure from the business sector, which has been affected by mass deportations of undocumented Haitians, as they rely heavily on Haitian labour, mainly in the agricultural and construction industries.
The Dominican government announced last year that it would deport up to 10,000 Haitians per week, citing an “excess” of immigrants.
Dominican officials argue that Haitian immigrants have overburdened the country’s public services, with more than 80,000 new Haitian students enrolled in public schools in the past four years. Health officials say Haitian women account for up to 70% of births in the country, costing the government millions of dollars.
According to official statistics, half a million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic which has a population of 11 million people.
AP Video shot by Martin Adames
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