14448: Benodin: DR1: 7,000 Haitians arrested in 12 days (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

DR1
1-14-03: 7,000 Haitians arrested in 12 days
Over the past 12 days the Army has reportedly arrested 7,000 Haitian
nationals for attempting illegal entries to Dominican territory. Army Chief
of Staff, Major General Carlos Luciano Diaz Morfa, told reporters that since
the influx of the many legal residents from Haiti, many more Haitians have
tried to cross the border, prompting reinforcements to his frontier forces.
With its use of enhanced motorized equipment, the Army has been swift to
deport the illegal immigrants, turning them over to the immigration
officials who then return the Haitians to their own country. The largest
numbers of illegal immigrants have been caught in the north of the Dominican
Republic, around the areas of Dajabon, Loma de Cabrera, Restauracion and
even Monte Cristi.