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Dominican Republic

Haitians who were detained hold up their immigration status documents to prove they have work permits, in Haina, Dominican Republic, March 16, 2024.

‘We have different cultures, but we share the same island’: Dominican Republic priest says his country should do more to help Haiti

Conflict & Justice

The Dominican Republic has decided to impose tighter border restrictions to keep people from Haiti out of the country. The World’s host, Carolyn Beeler, speaks with Osvaldo Concepción, a Jesuit priest who works closely with Haitians who have crossed into the Dominican Republic, about the situation.

The Dominican Republic took in Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in exchange for a promise to develop the land. Franz Blumenstein rides a donkey in Sosúa, Dominican Republic, 1940.

The Dominican Republic took in Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler while 31 nations looked away

Conflict & Justice
Three women on stage gesticulating, one with blackface pounding her chest

A Miami theater group has a change of heart over blackface

Arts, Culture & Media
Health centers in New York are providing information about the Zika virus to New Yorkers traveling home to the Dominican Republic. People who've traveled to the DR represent more than half of the Zika cases in New York.

Dominicans in New York are planning summer visits home. That means Zika planning.

Health
Dennis Benzan meeting constituents

A Boston community is divided over the Dominican Republic’s citizenship policy

Justice
The waiting line at El Huacal, the government building in Santo Domingo where undocumented Haitians (and Dominicans of Haitian descent) have come to "regularize" their status.

Haitians who consider the Dominican Republic their home are threatened with expulsion

Global Politics

The government in the Dominican Republic says it will begin to deport Haitians living there unless they can prove their legal status. That applies to Haitians who were born in the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata

Bachata is genuinely a music of the people. Recalling the American blues, bachata was infamous as the anthem of the hard-drinking, womanizing, down-on-his-luck man, vilified as the entertainment of the brothels and the cabarets, and worshipped by the downtrodden poor … Read more »

Dominican students

Dominicans argue over a court ruling that strips citizenship from many born in the country

Global Politics

In September of 2013, a high court in the Dominican Republic ruled that Dominicans with an immigrant ancestor who came without legal papers are no longer automatically citizens — even if they were born in the country. It’s a controversial decision that is creating arguments in the country and outside.

Betzeida Perez Pierre was born in the Dominican Republic, as were her parents and their parents. Now she can't attend university because her Dominican citizenship has been canceled.

What happens when your government tells you you’re no longer a citizen?

Conflict & Justice

A court ruling in the Dominican Republic means thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent are losing their citizenship — some of whom can trace their roots in the Dominican Republic as far back as 1929.

Eglise de Dieu, a church in Harlem, has a congregation of around 200 people, most of whom have roots in Haiti. Songs alternate between English and Haitian Creole, with Creole lyrics projected.

Here’s why a court ruling in the Dominican Republic is spurring international protests

Conflict & Justice

Because of a court ruling in the Dominican Republic against undocumented immigrants, nearly a quarter of a million people are finding themselves stateless. Many of them are Haitians since Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same island. Protests have spread as far as New York.