Migrants from Haiti have long had a tough time in the Dominican Republic, but in this case their anger is largely directed at Haiti's government, which has been slow to issue the needed documents amid its usual bureaucratic torpor and has been charging fees that are far higher than most people can afford. Haitians have staged several protests in recent weeks outside their government's embassy in Santo Domingo over the issue.
Haiti is charging the equivalent of about $60 for a new birth certificate, voter ID and a passport, a special rate for the migrant registration process since it normally costs $80 for a just a passport. Still, it's too expensive in a place where migrant workers barely earn $5 a day, said William Charpentier, director of the National Migration Roundtable, a non-governmental group.
"In our view, the Haitian authorities have been somewhat irresponsible," Charpentier said.
The Haitian government has been coming under increasing international pressure to address the issue and a solution may emerge before the deadline. But the Dominican residency process, known as "regularization," is clearly off to a slow start.
