The Dominican Republic says it deported more than 130 Haitian women and children on the first day of a crackdown on undocumented migrants in hospitals.
Dominican authorities said 48 pregnant women, 39 new mothers and 48 children were removed on Monday.
The swoop is one of 15 measures announced by the president to cut the number of undocumented migrants in his country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Those deported were taken to a detention centre to have their biometric data and fingerprints taken before being handed to Haitian authorities.
The Dominican immigration department said the women and their children were treated with dignity and given food.
Officials also said they were deported after they had been discharged from hospital, and there were no risks to their health.
But the Dominican College of Physicians called the deportations inhumane and said checking people's migratory status and detaining them in hospitals would lead to undocumented migrants being too afraid to seek urgent medical care.
At least half a million Haitians are estimated to live in the Dominican Republic, which has a population of 11 million.
comments powered by Disqus
.jpg)
All feeds
