José Martínez Brito questions the veracity of migration figures and their impact on the Dominican school system
Lawyer and communicator José Martínez Brito has called into question the consistency of the official statistics presented by the General Directorate of Migration. During his participation in the program Esto No Es Radio, the analyst pointed out an evident contradiction between the high number of reported deportations and the sustained increase of Haitian students in the country’s public schools.
Brito based his doubts on data provided by immigration authorities, which indicate that so far this year there have been approximately 250,000 deportations and repatriations. Breaking down this figure, the communicator stressed that this would be equivalent to more than a thousand people expelled daily, a volume that, in his view, would be impossible to hide at border points.
I would like to know if that can go unnoticed, because deporting a thousand people a day must generate a scandal at any border where that happens.
José Martínez Brito, communicator
Contrast with school enrollment
The central point of Brito’s criticism lies in the pressure that this migratory flow exerts on the national education system. According to the data presented, the enrollment of Haitian students rose from 186,000 in the 2023-2025 period to 205,000 for the 2026 school year, which represents an increase of more than 18,000 foreign students.
- Current ratio: One in every 11 students in public schools is of Haitian origin.
- Local deficit: A decrease of 23,000 Dominican students in the formal system is reported for the current school year.
- Enrollment issue: The communicator questioned whether the drop in Dominican schooling is truly due to dropout rates or a lack of available spots in the face of high demand from foreigners.
Criticism of the Thousand Bonus and resource management
In addition to the migration situation, Martínez Brito lashed out at the school incentive program that grants one thousand pesos per student. He described this measure as an inefficient investment that represents an outlay of about 1.2 billion pesos without a clear social return.
The lawyer denounced, citing testimonies from the education sector, that there are cases where parents enroll their children to receive the financial incentive without guaranteeing the minors’ regular attendance in classrooms. According to Brito, these types of public policies lack adequate supervision mechanisms, which ends up worsening the institutional credibility crisis that, in his view, the Dominican State is going through.
