Authorities in the Dominican Republic have detained more than 130 Haitian women and children during a series of raids on public hospitals in the capital, Santo Domingo, as part of a renewed crackdown on undocumented migrants.
The arrests, which took place on Monday, mainly targeted women seeking medical care—many of whom were pregnant or had recently given birth. Immigration officers moved through several health facilities, detaining those without legal residency documents.
This operation marks the latest phase of a controversial immigration policy rolled out by President Luis Abinader’s administration, which seeks to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants weekly.
Officials say the measures are designed to control the influx of migrants from Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.
However, human rights groups and local advocates have condemned the hospital raids, describing them as cruel and disproportionate. Critics also argue that the government’s approach fails to consider the desperate conditions driving many Haitians to cross the border, including severe gang violence, political instability, and a collapsing healthcare system in Port-au-Prince.
