Santo Domingo.- The Repatriated Reintegration Unit of the Human Rights Department of the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), which is headed by the magistrate Danissa Cruz Taveras, reported that, from 2015 to date, it has provided assistance to 20,115 people who were deported to the Dominican Republic for committing different violations of the laws of the countries to which they were deported. They emigrated.
Among the tasks carried out by this unit of the Attorney General's Office aimed at a dignified reintegration into society are the facilitation of obtaining birth certificates, management of identity and voter cards, driver's licenses, passports, psychological assistance, certification of no criminal record, withdrawal of records, information on access to credit, assistance with financing or small businesses, letters for the return of bonds and legal assistance for violations of fundamental rights.
Read more: What is the fate of deportees in the DR?
Judge Cruz Taveras emphasized that there is a protocol for receiving repatriated persons in which the Dominican authorities know in advance who will be returned, so before they arrive in the country they communicate with their relatives to invite them to the reception.
He added that, once in the country, returnees are transferred to the Haina Vacation Center, located in the province of San Cristóbal, where they are informed about the process to follow and their legal status, in addition to providing them with immediate assistance, including food and access to toilets and other necessities.
Their biometric data is also collected, they are given information about the services of the unit to which they can have access, and the families of the repatriated are asked to sign a document in which they accept responsibility for the reception of the returnees.
Cruz Taveras explained that upon arrival in the country, repatriated persons do not have and are not given a criminal record; however, all are consulted in the Criminal Investigation System (SIC) to detect those who have pending or active cases with the Dominican justice system, and, if necessary, these are handed over to the prosecutors in the different jurisdictions of the country.
Statistics of the last 10 years
In a report submitted by the Repatriated Reintegration Unit of the DDH-PGR It is highlighted that, of the 20,115 repatriated persons assisted by this unit, 8,742 (43%) were returned for violation of immigration law; 6,486 (32%) for drug-related crimes; 1,695 (8%) for assaults and the other 17% for the commission of other crimes.
The report reveals that in 2024, the Repatriation Reintegration Unit handed over 33 repatriated persons with active arrest warrants to the country's various prosecutors' offices; while in 2023, another 14 persons were handed over.
The director of the unit emphasized that during this period the procedural route was dignified by taking only the biometric data of the repatriated persons, without creating criminal records, while informing them about their legal status and their rights, as well as the reintegration services that are available.
