Abel Martínez denounces alleged mafia in the process of deporting foreigners
Political leader and presidential hopeful for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Abel Martínez, launched harsh criticisms against the current migration management, pointing to the existence of an alleged corruption network operating under the scheme of deportations of foreign citizens in irregular status.
During a meeting with militants and community leaders in Santiago de los Caballeros, as part of his activities called “A coffee with Abel,” the former mayor of Santiago asserted that migration control operations have been marred by irregularities.
It is important for it to be known that what is happening with the deportations of illegal Haitians in the Dominican Republic is an authentic mafia. When they talk about deportations, they are not talking about what they leave behind or the quota that those illegals have to pay so that, before reaching the border, they are released.
Abel Martínez, PLD leader
Questions regarding the number of immigrants
In his statements, Martínez raised a concern about the number of foreigners residing in the national territory without the corresponding legal documents. According to his estimates, the figure would exceed two million people, an amount that, in his view, represents an unsustainable challenge to the country’s stability and order.
The leader called on the Executive Branch to act with greater rigor and transparency. He emphasized that immigration policies must be strictly applied to anyone who does not comply with the laws, regulations, and the Dominican Constitution, regardless of nationality, to prevent the country from becoming what he described as a “jungle”.
Context of migration operations
Although on previous occasions Martínez had expressed a positive assessment of certain measures announced by the State to control the migratory flow, on this occasion he questioned the effectiveness and the seriousness with which these actions are currently being executed.
For its part, the General Directorate of Migration has maintained an active agenda of interdiction operations in various parts of the country, including the province of Santiago. According to recent official data, during a single week in September, nearly 9,788 arrests of foreigners with irregular status were recorded, of which 7,968 were effectively deported.
