President Danilo Medina's speech on Independence Day

Thanks for posting. So he is planning on throwing all the snow birds who are here for 6 months pouring millions of $$$ into the economy?????

Yes fingers are crossed on him running again.  Four more years of Leonel will turn my stomach.  He was such a crook it would be a huge step backwards.

Bob K

WHY DO ILLEGALS HAVE TO LEAVE IF THE U S GOVERNIMEMENT ASK ALL THOSE ILLEGAL DOMINICANS TO LEAVE THE U S A WILL THEY LIKE IT WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF ILLEGALS HERE AN THE DOMICIAN WOMEN COME HERE TRINIDAD / TOBAGO AN DO PROSTITUINGHERE AN THEY ILLEGAL WHY DO WE SEND THEM BACK ?

Welcome  Homebutler,  your post is very confusing. First do not write in all CAPS, it is like screaming at us. 

The US gov't has nothing to do with what the Dominican gov't is doing.  They have every right to control illegal immigrants, period. We don't have to like it but it is their right. AND it has noting to do with illegal dominicans in Trinidad and Tobago!  That is up to them to control.

Bob I highly doubt they are throwing out snow birds.  This will be interesting to watch.

Home butter welcome.  Yes this has nothing to do with the US and the DR is free to make it's own decisions on immigration just as Tobago is free to do what they want with illegals.

Bob K

Hes not throwing out the "snow birds", hes throwing out the ilegal inmigrants who are ruining the economy and taking job oportunities from poor people.. and most of those ilegal inmigrants are Haitian, and from my humble point of view is not a race thing, its an economic thing.

They come here with their pregnant women and consume the hospitals budget, they breed like rabbits, create slums in the capital and have taken over the misery jobs that creates a third world economy, like construction, agribusiness and services... For me thats the issue and on top of that they are burning Dominican flags and having march in Haiti saying that we are racist.

If it were for me I would leave Danilo there forever

ok my dear but I fine the people are to poor why an live in delapitaded houses I may visit en mayo ok too see I want gto help the poor ok a friend told me he work for 5 .00 u s dollars from 10.00am to 9 .00 pm I do not know how true but that's slavery ok all the best

ok my dear but I fine the people are to poor why an live in delapitaded houses I may visit en mayo ok too see I want gto help the poor ok a friend told me he work for 5 .00 u s dollars from 10.00am to 9 .00 pm I do not know how true but that's slavery ok all the best

I don't think our President is racist.
Even when the Haitians are trying to burn our flag.
That is really bad. We cannot discriminate against one
nationality, therefore the Dominican Republic are
stating that all undocumented foreigners will
be told to leave in seventy-five days from yesterday.
How that will be done, who knows?

The following is from "Dominican Today" Newsletter.

Santo Domingo.– President Danilo Medina said in a speech Friday that no foreign nation or international body may require the country to make sacrifices outside its constitutional and legal order, neither on migration nor on any other sovereign right.

"We are building a nation together, a country with true equality and social justice. A country without exclusion and without discrimination, but also an organized and tidy country, where law enforcement should prevail," the president highlighted.

During his state of the nation speech, marking the country's independence from Haiti, Medina recalled that for decades, the Dominican government dragged serious institutional and legal deficiencies in this issue, which were accumulating without being solved by previous governments.

He said the government decided to act responsibly and implement the most ambitious alien regularization plan ever seen, not only in the Dominican Republic, but throughout the continent.

I cannot disagree with the President.  A stand has to be taken and to include ALL folks here illegally is ok by me.  You would be amazed by how many expats are here escaping being wanted in their home countries.  I sometimes wonder how many criminals we are hiding here.  Certainly a fair number of pedophiles. 

Funny how Interpol makes a round up every once in a while and dozens of folks are shipped out.

Bob K

How is this going to affect my stay from March to July?

Not at all

Bob K

Well Bob, we will start to find out how many people
are hiding here shortly after May 16.
President Medina is on the right track for sure.

Too bad it looks like he won't be president much longer and then I am afraid all kinds of reforms will once again take the back burner.

Speaking of burner I wish someone would light a fire under his but and get in gear for another run (change the constitution for the 4th or 5th time like his two previous predisessors.)

Bob K

Well Bob, the rumors I hear, he is thinking about changing it so he can run next year.

Let us be fair. Dominicans have burned, Haitian flags as well and just recently lynched a Haitian citizen in Santiago. Let us not forget the 5 Haitians that were burned in an oven in Dajabon by Dominican Nationals. If we are going to talk about atrocities we cannot mention one set of atrocities and not mention the others. I do not think President Medina is racist, but we can't deny there has been a long time AntiHatian sentiment in DR. Due to many historical reasons.

             Everyone wants to get rid of the Hatians so badly, but the so called jobs these immigrants are taking away, no self respecting Dominican wants to do for the low wages being offered by Dominican contractors. You tell me.....who will cut your cane, pick your fruits and veggies, construct your schools and buildings if you get rid of all the Haitians? Are you prepared to pay $RD 500 for an apple or orange, because prices will rise on these items and services if the employers have to pay more.

        By  If you truly do not want the Hatians in DR.....Secure your borders, stop the soldiers who guard the borders from bringing illegal Hatians for a price, and most of all stop the wealthy contractors from smuggling them in to the menial labor at dirt cheap prices! Stop complaining so much and resolve the problem if you want them out that bad. For every deported Hatian, I guarantee there will 50 more crossing in through the backdoor thanks to the very same people that want them out!

Similar situation in the US.  Many want the illegal Mexicans expelled but NO one wants to do the jobs they do. Can't have it both ways.  So like in the US those that have been there a while and are working should get residency status with very little hassle.  They have become part of the fabric of the land.

Funny movie a few years back called "A day in the life with out Mexicans" . It is about what would happen in California if all the Mexicans just disappeared one day.  It was total chaos with NOTHING in the state working properly.

Bob K

I saw that movie Bob, sounds like it needs a sequel......A day without a Hatian, let's see how that plays out. I'm a huge fan of Danilo Medina and I always speak highly of him. I hope he gets another 4 years, but I agree on the fact that Hatians who were born or entered the country in legal fashion should be regulated which is what is now being done, and those who entered illegally or cannot regulate their status, then sadly must go. If borders are not secured, all this money being spent on regulation is just a waste of time and money! Secure the borders first and perhaps the problem will be solved, but as we all know.......the smuggling industry is just too good to pass up, so let's see how well things turn out after the regulatory period ends.

Things are about to heat up a bit for ExPrez L. Fernandez since report has it that former Drug Lord Quirino has returned to DR yesterday Sat in the weeeee hours of the morning, and from what was reported, he did not go through the normal protocol of an ex-con returning home. In other words......Mr Quirino seems to have quite a few supporters who might be interested to have him go before a court and corroborate his story regarding Mr Fernandez and the money cases. Get your Popcorn out folks, this is going to be entertaining

Yes very interesting indeed.

Can you imagine
1. Medina decides not to run
2. L.F. gets so tangled up in legal crap he becomes even more ineffective and loses
3.  We end up with Hipplito as president again

Talk about a huge leap backwards.

Bob K

Bob, please think positive! We've both been here long enough
to realize our country needs Danilo for at least five more years.
Also, all the news I have read confirms the
unlucky young fellow in Santiago was hung by his Hatian friends.

Yes things are a bit of a mess.   ONE request, please keep comments  reasonable,  nothing rascist etc.  Thanks. 

It is an issue here,  low end jobs are being done by illegal immigrants, similar to the USA.  IF there were none here then  legal employees would be paid the legal minimum wage. NO way would oranges be 500RD, not even reasonable.  Farming can be done while paying minimum wage.  IF it can't then there will be an increase in prices but many more people would have jobs.  Trade off - I think so.

Yes there are atrocities on both sides. No doubt.  Neither side is blameless but this is all way more complicated then we can even imagine.

I agree with Danilo - no one should tell us what the constitution  should say!   

As to rewriting the constitution AGAIN -  bloody hell. Get it sorted out and leave it the hell alone.  They keep changing it to suit themselves.   

Hipolito -  big hell no.  He did so much damage it is unbelievable.....

Planner, we are a "developing Nation" We are "developing"
the Constitution, hopefully so we can have a great President
for at least five additional years.

We did a copy-paste of the constituion of developed countries, and it is a problem because of the institutional weakness we have in the country, processes here dont run as they run in other nations like England, France or USA.

If Danilo goes the progress goes with him, cause PLD doesnt have an agenda or a government plan, its just a blind electoral machine, theres no establishment in this country. Every President does what it wants.

Theres no national plan for anything.. Inmigration, Transportation, Electricity, Security (big fan of Ludovinos methods on that regard back in Trujillo days), for me personally, if we solve those issues we would be living in paradise.

In the meantime, do as we do.. Enjoy the circus and take a Presidente.

It will take more than one presidente.  I think a couple are in order or maybe a 6 pack

Bob K

The constitution  has been changed several times to suit whims of current government, that is what needs to stop.  It needs to be safeguarded in my opinion.    Remember it was changed so Leonel could run a second time, then changed back again!  Ridiculous in my opinion.....

Yup several presidentes and maybe a brugal or two.....LOL

Well, I think an old fashioned two-four of Molson's Canadian would work,
while we wait for our current leader to keep doing what he does best.
FIXING OUR COUNTRY.
It will take time, of course.
Maybe a truckload of cervasa, whatever it takes!
Let's face it..... a 92 percent approval!
Unheard of in history.
He has to change the Constitution again.

Go to a max 8 years consecutive or not but max 8 years similar to the US and make so that I cannot be changed with out an act of God.

Bob K

Sure Bob!
Five more years of Danilo just might do the trick.

Hey Planner not talking racism at all, but if you watch the news and read some of the local newspapers, you can tell that a select group does have a problem with the Hatians, now wether those feelings are racially motivated or not, I would not know, because I do not know what is in that person's heart, I'm simply stating that Historically, some of the AntiHatian sentiment has been racially motivated. The parsley massacre was induced due to what kind of reasoning?
     The $RD 500 apples was obviously an exaggeration, but I do agree that if there were no illegal immigrants, perhaps it would force employers to pay competitive wages, but planner this is the real world and we know bussiness folks will always search for and import cheap labor why do you think the US outsources labor in such large numbers???? I would love to see the Dominicans being payed fairly to do the work in their own backyard, but fat chance of that happening in a capitalist society.
        Thomas do not believe the Hype. The Santiago lynching will be accommodated by the police force to not ensue a massive riot. We all have been in DR long enough to know the police will spin a story to suit their needs, you tell me what purpose would another Hatian national have to kill another national and risk being caught in public hanging the body and not only risk prison time, but being deported. I have studied criminology for years and usually murders involving multiple stab wounds, multiple gunshots, hangings, etc.......are usually hate motivated. I simply do not buy the whole Hatian buddies hung this guy in the public park, let's not forget the day before the lynching there was a mob of locals burning the Hatian flag and protesting Hatian occupation in Santiago. The videos of that incident are all over the web.
       If the Dominicans want to put a stop to the illegal immigration problem, they need to address the issue with their own border patrol and plug the holes, plus enforce stricter laws on the national corporations to stop hiring illegals, but once again for that to happen the government needs to get out of bed with these corps. This year will be an interesting one for sure.

Here is an interesting article from the Huffington post newspaper about the Santiago incident. What makes the whole story smell of......Hey let's come up with a quick answer to not ensue a mass riot is that in less than 24 Hours the police without fully investigating were quick to release the supposed reason behind this horrendous crime, anyone knows that you do not rule out any motives until you fully gather all evidence and speak to everyone. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/1 … 64276.html

I would like to add just one more thing.......What would Dominicans say if Puerto Rico enacted the same measures retroactively for Dominicans going back to 1929???? The missing point here is that the Haitians that were born in the DR to migrant parents were there legally as per the agreement between the two nations to bring Hatians to work in the cane fields. These migrants had work permits which not only gave them the opportunity to work, but also claim any children born in DR at the time as legal citizens, so how is it now that these kids become illegals? It seems to me that if they were enough Dominicans needing work, why did they begin to import Haitian labor as far back as 1929? That is why I do not buy the argument that if all the Hatians are deported, all of a sudden unemployment rates will drop and Dominicans will rush to fill those spots.....Just like in the US, not many will rush out to pick apples and oranges if the current employees vacate those jobs.

massagewiz good point

Bob K

Just trying to keep things balanced on the blog Bob.......I do acknowledge that the DR has probably been one of the few countries that has done the most for Haiti, but in life there is something called balance and we cannot allow the good deeds to overshadow the negatives along the way. We must seek balance in life for all things.

           It will always be easy to speak of the good things we have done, but honestly, how many of us will speak about the negatives we have done as well??? He who is without sin cast the first stone. Or do unto others as you would have done unto you.

            That is why I mentioned Puerto Rico, what would happen to all the illegal Dominicans living on that neighboring Island if they decided to retroactively enforce a law which at the time made them citizens and now claim they are illegals? That is the equivalent of inviting you to my house for dinner under the pretense of a free meal, and then hand you a bill for everything you ate and drank during that evening, it just would not be right. If I want to charge you for dinner then I can do it on future ocassions, not at the time of that free meal, or worst yet, send you a bill for all the past meals you ate at my house during our lifelong friendship. I'm pretty sure none of us here would do such thing, so why is it ok for a Government to do such thing

Massagewiz again you make valid points.  I go back to the "Mexican" problem in the US.  Many have been there for years and brought in as "farm workers" in a semi legal way. Ii think the solution (which has been proposed) is to grant legal status for those who have either been brought in as "workers" or who have lived in the US for a certain number of years.  Then address the problem of those coming in illegally at the present.

I personally know many, many Mexicans in the US who are there illegally but are part of the fabric of the community.  They own businesses, have good jobs, contribute to society.  Why should they be punished. 

The same can be said of many Haitians who are living and working in the DR.

Let's look forward and not back.

Bob K

Any child born of "LEGAL" parents  has the right to citizenship.  There was no making new laws retroactive, the enforcement of the laws on the books was what was retroactive - that is my understanding. But, I won't debate it as I do not know enough about it.  I will do more reading though.

It is a huge issue.  Yes the DR has done MORE than any other nation to help Haiti. And we are likely one of the least able to do this.  The effects are felt far and wide.  Do we want to do more,  yes. Can we,  hell no we cannot.  People here are dying from lack of medication.  Children are being set up for a lifetime of health issues due to poor nutrition.  Children here are not being properly educated.   This country cannot absorb a lot of additional people who need help. It really is a bad situation.

There is a high unemployment rate in this country. And there are a lot of able bodied Dominicans who will not work at  "low level" jobs.  Well they need to get their heads out of their butts and get to work.  IF there were less illegals accepting less then minimum wage, IF the wages went to at least minimum wage it would help everyone who  needs to work to support themselves and families!  And don't tell me that construction cannot be done at minimum wage or farming or zona francas.............   Maybe if some people stopped lining their own pockets there would be enough money to pay people a decent wage.

It is a very complicated and delicate subject for sure!   One more point, as outsiders we have our opinions but we MUST respect the rules here.  In fact did you know it is illegal for us to take part in any kind of protest etc here? WE can be deported for this..........

Bob I agree,  look forward not back!!!!

Greetings planner you hit the nail on the head, that is exactly what I was saying all along, not until the country makes a serious effort to stop illegal immigration, Hatians and many others will cross the borders, as a matter of fact just this morning on the news, 470 Haitians were caught at the border being smuggled in.
             As far as the bussiness community halting the use of Hatians for minimum wage labor, that would require the government to get out of bed with the bussiness sector, and we both know how much influence the wealthy bussiness families have on the government, since they contribute very highly to the politicians campaign, so I doubt very highly they are going to all of a sudden force their benefactors to all of a sudden do the right thing, wishful thinking in DR. Cheap labor has been there since the beginning and will probably continue for some time to come.
       As to the retroactive law, as far as I understand it, the Jus Solis/ius Solis law that was on the book back in 1929 up until about 2004 said nothing about having to have one Dominican parent, which is what Jus Solis is, Jus Sanguinis is by blood relation, so if from 1929 to 2004 Jus Solis/ius Solis was the constitutional rules, then those Hatians born during that time period are Dominicans as per their own constitutional law, this is what the uproar is all about. I can't change the rules in the middle of a football game to suit my needs and guarantee a win. I would have to let that game end, take my loss and make adjustments for the next game, which is what has been done, but I can't return to past games which were already played and decided and apply my new rules......Can you imagine the uproar in the NFL?
         I agree that DR infrastructure can't support the Hatian immigration, but for that to happen, there must be a serious effort on the part of various sectors to halt it, and as long as there are big profits to be made, it will not happen. In this country the wealthy bussiness families have more power than the actual president, don't believe for a minute that major desicions taken are made without taking these guys opinions into account.
         I guess we all do agree on one thing and that is we need to look forward 

The President speech was a good one, but all everyone can talk about this morning is the return of former Drug Lord Quirino Castillo and what does it mean for those who owe him money. All that was spoken by the Prez is just about forgotten by now, not to mention he is out of the country seeking treatment for dermatitis...........Chisme in DR will always trump serious News   .......So much for the King's Speech.