A collaborative assessment carried out by the Dominican Republic’s National Migration Institute (INM) and the World Bank has uncovered major systemic shortcomings in how migration is regulated along the shared border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, pointing to a series of overlapping issues that put fair legal processes at risk. These flaws span from fragmented coordination between different government bodies to overly broad discretionary power granted to enforcement officials, substandard infrastructure for deportation operations, and confusingly mixed oversight responsibilities between military and civilian institutions.
The geographic and operational landscape of the border itself adds layers of complexity to the management challenge, the report confirms. Spanning a long, porous divide, the boundary counts more than 31 official crossing points, supports more than 15 binational commercial markets, and is complemented by at least 16 unregulated informal entry points. This mixed ecosystem creates a dynamic space where both legal and unregistered migration and cross-border trade operate side by side, weaving interconnected economic and social ties between communities on both sides.
To illustrate just how deeply integrated these border economies are, the study notes that close to 2,000 Haitian workers cross through the Pedernales checkpoint every single day. The vast majority of these laborers take up jobs in the Dominican Republic’s construction and agricultural sectors, a pattern that underscores the mutual economic reliance that shapes daily life for populations living near the border, even amid ongoing governance challenges.
Beyond structural coordination issues, the research team behind the report also called attention to operational gaps that weaken migration enforcement and leave vulnerable populations at risk. These include inconsistent deployment and use of biometric identification technology, a general lack of adequate specialized training for frontline migration enforcement staff, and alarming substandard living and processing conditions at deportation transit centers. These poor conditions disproportionately harm marginalized groups, particularly women and migrant children held in these facilities.
To address the full scope of these shortcomings, the report puts forward a clear set of actionable recommendations. It calls for a shift toward more coordinated, data-driven migration policies that cut through institutional fragmentation, renewed efforts to strengthen cross-agency collaboration, and expanded opportunities for local border communities to participate in governance planning. The report frames these reforms as a balanced path to improve overall border governance, while upholding both the Dominican Republic’s national security priorities and fundamental due process protections for all people impacted by migration enforcement.