According to the institution, at least 85,306 Haitians were repatriated from the Dominican Republic, 14,204 were rejected and 62,476 returned voluntarily.

In total, the institution registered 161,986 returnees, including 18,237 minors, 2,064 of them unaccompanied.

There are also 1,864 pregnant women among the migrants, a fact that raised questions about the Dominican Republic’s immigration policy, particularly when organizations criticized that Dominican authorities broke into hospitals to deport them.

The GARR also deplored that the migrants suffered verbal and physical abuse, family separation, robberies, arrests, and some were victims of sexual abuse, as well as trafficking and smuggling.

At least 60,000 migrants were arrested before being deported, and some had to return to Haiti without receiving their wages.

At the end of November, in the midst of a drastic increase in forced returns, the Haitian government warned that the methods used for the massive returns of its nationals could deteriorate bilateral relations.

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