PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A sharp escalation in mass deportations from the Dominican Republic is drawing heavy criticism from the United Nations, after reports confirmed that pregnant and breastfeeding Haitian women are being forced back into their crisis-stricken homeland in defiance of international humanitarian standards.
Since late April, humanitarian workers at border checkpoints have been assisting an average of 30 displaced mothers and mothers-to-be per day, many arriving without medical support or personal belongings, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The Dominican government, under the recently re-elected President Luis Abinader, has intensified removal operations to Haiti as part of a broader immigration clampdown. The policy, while popular with nationalist factions, has ignited condemnation from human rights observers, who call the removals “inhumane and unlawful.”
“This is a blatant breach of protections afforded to vulnerable populations,” said Ulrika Richardson, the UN’s top humanitarian official in Haiti. “The international community must not stay silent while women and infants are cast into one of the world’s most fragile states.”
April 2025 marked a record month, with nearly 20,000 Haitians expelled by land — many of them women and children. The two countries share the island of Hispaniola, but conditions on either side could hardly be more different. While the Dominican Republic continues to enjoy relative stability, Haiti is gripped by escalating gang violence, economic collapse, and widespread displacement.
The UN estimates that over one million Haitians are now internally displaced. The worsening situation prompted UN envoy Maria Isabel Salvador to recently warn that Haiti is nearing total institutional collapse — a “point of no return” unless urgent international intervention materializes.
As the crisis deepens, the UN is urging Dominican authorities to halt the deportation of high-risk individuals and instead coordinate on humanitarian solutions. So far, no such shift in policy appears to be on the horizon.
