He Dominican College of Economists (Codeco) stated that the Dominican economy does not support more illegal immigration of Haitians and affirmed that there is no room to give them more jobs when there are more than a million living in the Dominican Republic.
The professional union indicated that, although it is true that trade with Haiti has continued its dynamism, and part of the goods that its population is consuming enters through the border, The Dominican economy does not support more immigration due to the high cost that this means for the Dominican State. Codeco indicated, in a statement, that the crisis experienced by the Haitian population exceeds the country’s capacities.
“There is no space to give them more employment when there are more than a million Haitians living in the Dominican Republic, some of whom 700 are employed in different sectors contributing with their workforce to national development and sending remittances for some US$1,000 million annually, including those that are not registered in the national accounts”, the economists point out.
Likewise, Codeco highlighted the high cost for the national budget to protect the border, plus education and health expenses to serve hundreds of thousands of illegal HaltiansWhat he said affects the ability to protect the two million Dominicans who live in poverty and need government help. They say that the country currently helps the Haitian population by supplying the goods they need, sometimes creating food shortages in the domestic market.
He added that, The Dominican government, with its migration control policy, exercises its right to protect its borders, preventing the Haitian crisis from spreading to its territory and called not to confuse “racism with history”, and refers that “we have lived peacefully with the Haitians who reside in the country for decades, many have become related to Dominicans and have made friends and businesses in various sectors of the economy, but we can never accept that, due to history, there is hatred and fear in the face of threats of unification”.
Tense situation
Economists explain that the situation with Haiti is becoming increasingly tense due to pressure from United Nations organizations for the Dominican Republic to welcome refugees from that nation “who flee, more than anything, due to extreme poverty and lack of food, than for reasons of insecurity due to the actions of armed gangs.”
Codeco points out that in That uncontrolled immigration could infiltrate elements of the armed gangs who want to reproduce the same actions in the country.
14.52% of Dominican exports go to Haiti
Total exports for 2022 amounted to US$12,390.93 million. Three countries are the main destinations of these, assuming 51.75% Switzerland (24.03%), Haiti (14.52%) and the United States (13.20%).