Dominican Republic expels hundreds of pregnant women to Haiti – UN

A truck leaves with ilegal Haitian migrants to be deported from the Dominican Republic’s Haina Temporary Detention Center, near Santo Domingo, on May 17, 2024. On the white sands of the Caribbean’s top tourist destination, a concrete tower marks the first end of the 164-kilometer wall the Dominican Republic is building to “protect” itself from illegal immigration, violence and trafficking from Haiti. As the country prepares for its May 19 presidential election, troubled neighboring Haiti has been rocked by months of gang violence and political instability. Agence France-Presse

UNITED NATIONS — The Dominican Republic has expelled hundreds of pregnant and breastfeeding women to Haiti over the past month despite its mounting insecurity and “in violation of international standards,” the United Nations said Tuesday.

Boosting deportations to neighboring Haiti — the region’s poorest nation which is ravaged by gang violence — was a campaign promise of Dominican President Luis Abinader, reelected in May 2024 for a second term.

The UN humanitarian team in Haiti “expresses deep concern over the rising number of pregnant and breastfeeding women being deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, in violation of international standards,” the group said in a statement.

READ: Dominican Republic’s vote is dominated by Haiti crisis

It said the UN migration agency (IOM), in partnership with Haitian authorities and others, had “assisted an average of 15 pregnant women and 15 breastfeeding mothers per day” at two border crossings since April 22.

The two countries share the island of Hispaniola, the second-biggest in the Caribbean after Cuba.

“Nearly 20,000 individuals — including a growing number of highly vulnerable women — were deported by land in April 2025, marking a record number for a one-month period,” according to the IOM.

“It is imperative that commitments to protecting vulnerable populations are upheld,” said Ulrika Richardson, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti.

READ: Dominican Republic unveils plan to expel 10,000 Haitians a week

Haiti has long suffered from political instability and gang violence, but the situation has significantly worsened over the past year, particularly in the capital Port-au-Prince.

Last month, the UN’s special representative to Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, warned the country was approaching a “point of no return” and was in desperate need of international aid.

The UN estimates over a million Haitians have been internally displaced due to the violence.