No action taken by Dominican President Luis Abinader against Haiti should come as a surprise. The Dominican leader has consistently expressed his rejection of Haitians. Following the complete closure of the border with Haiti, the cessation of visa issuance for Haitians, and the construction of a wall along the border, Abinader has intensified the repatriation of Haitians under dire conditions. This has sparked outrage and anger within Haiti. This situation echoes the 1990s when Joaquín Balaguer’s administration forcibly repatriated Haitians without compassion and the 2013 ruling TC/0168/13 by the Dominican Constitutional Court, which stripped thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their nationality, leaving Haiti in shock.

The current manhunt by Dominican authorities against Haitians seeking better opportunities is not new in the context of relations between the two countries. However, social media now allows us to witness the plight of our compatriots in real-time. The Dominican government’s decision to expel 10,000 Haitian migrants per week marks a new low in the deteriorating relationship between the two nations. Since the decision by Haitians to construct an irrigation canal on the Massacre River in the Nord-Est department, the Dominican Republic has taken an increasingly hardline stance toward Haiti.