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Regarding the pending expulsion of Dominicans of Haitian descent, which I’ve written about here and here (based on original reporting by Rachel Nolan, here in Harper’s) and which is scheduled to start later this week: The Dominican Republic is sending mixed messages. Andrés Navarro, the country’s foreign minister, says they will wait until August to start deporting. The deadline for the hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent to register their status (and thus possibly avoid expulsion) is this Tuesday, and Navarro says the delay is necessary to both compile a complete “data base” with “biometric information” and to ensure that no “errors” are made, which could affect the “credibility of the whole process.” Ad Policy The Dominican Republic is sending mixed messages on deportation.

But General Rubén Darío Paulino Sem, the army official in charge of the deportation, says the expulsion will start this Thursday, June 18. Sem has been overseeing the construction of seven concentration camps—which he calls “shelters,” or “centros de acogida”—where Dominicans suspected of being of Haitian descent will be housed until a “final evaluation” can be made.

These two positions aren’t necessarily incompatible. Navarro could be talking about the final deportation to Haiti—which leaves room for the round-up to start next week, with the detained placed in Sem’s camps.

In the meantime, the “path to citizenship” established by the DR in response to international pressure has been riddled with corruption, bribery, impossible bureaucratic hurdles, long lines, and pepper spray.

I’ve received a number of e-mails from relatives of people subject to deportation. They are all heart-wrenching, such as this one, from a man whose partner is Dominican: