CODEPINK Protests Planned Deportation of Undocumented Dominicans of Haitian Descent

CODEPINK Media Advisory

June 18, 2015

CODEPINK Protests Planned Deportation of Undocumented Dominicans of Haitian Descent

Where: Dominican Embassy, 1715 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008

When: June 19, 2015 at 12:00pm

Washington, DC –– The peace group CODEPINK will protest the Dominican Republic’s plan for massive deportations on the steps of the Dominican Embassy on Friday, June 19 at 12:00pm. Following the 2013 high court ruling that people born to undocumented foreigners were not guaranteed citizenship, the Dominican Republic is set to deport people of Haitian descent en masse--including people who have never even lived in Haiti. About 500,000 undocumented Dominicans of Haitian descent could be deported if we don't act now.

“This is a gross violation of human rights,” said Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder. “Hundreds of thousands of people of Haitian descent flocked to the Dominican Republic to work grueling, low-paying jobs in the sugar fields, only to be rendered stateless and threatened with deportation. The international community must stand in solidarity with these undocumented citizens and prevent these deportations.”

CODEPINK will gather at noon and demand that the embassy reverse its decision.

“The world is watching,” said Jamila Brown, Latin America Coordinator for CODEPINK. “According to international law, each undocumented person must be reviewed on case by case basis and the court is required to respect their right to appeal. This cannot stand.”

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