Official in Dominican Republic says country to resume deportations after year long pause

June 16, 2015 News Room

SANTO DOMINGO,(AP) Dominican Republic _ The head of the Dominican Republic‘s immigration agency says the country is ready to resume deporting non-citizens without legal residency after putting the practice on hold for a year.

Army Gen. Rubel Paulino says his agency will patrol areas with large immigrant communities on Thursday following the end of a period in which non-citizens could apply for legal status.

Paulino says those who haven’t registered “will be repatriated.” That conflicts with statements by Interior Minister Ramon Fadul who said there would be no mass deportations.

The Dominican Republic deported non-citizens for decades, mostly to neighbouring Haiti. But it largely suspended deportations for the past year to allow people to register. However, few of the estimated 500,000 Haitians in the country have completed the paperwork to qualify for legal residency.