Dominican Republic will deport up to 10,000 Haitians a week, citing an ‘excess’ of immigrants

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic says it will start massive deportations of Haitians living illegally in the country and expel up to 10,000 of them a week. Government spokesman Homero Figueroa said Wednesday that the government took the decision after noticing an “excess” of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Figueroa said officials have seen an increase in Haitian migrants as a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti to fight gang violence flounders. He said authorities also agreed to strengthen border surveillance and control, but he did not provide details.