Leading global human rights group Amnesty International has publicly called on the Dominican government to end its policy of integrating immigration enforcement into routine healthcare services, taking aim at a controversial official protocol that allows authorities to deport undocumented Haitian migrants after they have completed necessary medical treatment.
In a formal statement released by the organization, Amnesty emphasized that the current government policy stands in direct contradiction to the Dominican Republic’s new role as the sitting president of the World Health Assembly, a position that carries a fundamental commitment to upholding global health equity. The human rights watchdog stressed that the Dominican Republic is obligated to ensure all people within its borders can access life-saving healthcare without discrimination based on race or migration status.
Amnesty also issued a stark warning about the dangerous public health and human impacts of the protocol: the policy has already created widespread fear among Haitian communities and Dominican citizens of Haitian descent, who are increasingly avoiding seeking needed medical care out of anxiety that they will be detained and deported even when they seek urgent treatment.
The protocol in question was first implemented in April 2025, and it mandates that all foreign patients accessing healthcare in the country produce valid official identification, documentation of legal residence, proof of employment, and advance payment for medical services. Under the rules, migrants who cannot meet these strict requirements are allowed to receive acute treatment, but are placed in immigration custody and scheduled for deportation once they have recovered enough to travel.
Official immigration data from the Dominican government underscores the scale of the country’s deportation push: in 2025 alone, authorities expelled more than 370,000 Haitian nationals from its territory, representing a 37.4 percent jump in the number of deportations compared to 2024 figures.