The Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Migration (DGM) announced a large-scale coordinated enforcement operation carried out on Friday, October 30, that resulted in the detention of 2,256 foreign nationals residing in the country without formal, regular migratory status. The multi-location interdiction efforts spanned dense urban neighborhoods, remote rural communities, and high-traffic border corridors across multiple provinces, marking one of the largest single-day irregular migration crackdowns recorded by the agency in recent months.
Of the total 2,256 individuals taken into custody, DGM field officers directly processed 1,466 detainees through their own on-the-ground patrols, while the remaining 790 apprehensions were secured through joint operations and cross-agency coordination with national security partners: the Dominican Republic Army (ERD), the National Police (PN), and the Specialized Corps in Land Border Security (Cesfront).
When broken down by jurisdiction, the highest volume of detentions was concentrated in border-adjacent provinces that see consistent cross-border informal movement. Dajabón recorded the largest single count with 317 detainees, followed closely by Elías Piña with 292. Valverde documented 157 apprehensions, Pedernales reported 150, and both La Vega and the capital region of Santo Domingo tied with 149 detainees apiece.
The geographic scope of the enforcement actions was far-reaching. Along the country’s land border, teams deployed to Dajabón, Loma de Cabrera, Restauración, Capotillo, Comendador, Oviedo, Juancho, Aguas Negras, Mencía, and Paso Sena. In the agriculturally and economically vital Cibao region, operations targeted Santiago, Mao, Esperanza, Hatillo Palma, Jaibón, Cutupú, Río Verde, Burende, Licey al Medio, Navarrete, Puñal, Tamboril, and San José de las Matas. Additional patrols were conducted across Duarte, Neiba, Villa Jaragua, Galván, Jimaní, San Francisco de Macorís, Castillo, Pimentel, Villa Riva, Azua, Peravia, San Cristóbal, Espaillat, Samaná, La Altagracia, and San Pedro de Macorís.
The October 30 action was part of a broader week-long enforcement push running from Friday, October 23 to Friday, October 30 that focused heavily on undocumented migrant labor in the agricultural sector. Over that seven-day window, DGM teams detained 339 undocumented Haitian nationals who were working on commercial farms across northern provinces. For the full week, Dajabón led all regions with 1,375 total apprehensions, followed by Valverde with 818.
All individuals taken into custody during the operations were transferred to the dedicated Haina Processing Center located in San Cristóbal, where immigration officials will conduct mandatory status verification, administrative reviews, and follow the country’s formal regulatory procedures for irregular migration cases. Additional smaller-scale interdiction actions were also confirmed in Montecristi, María Trinidad Sánchez, Samaná, Santiago Rodríguez, Monseñor Nouel, and Duarte as part of the ongoing national migration compliance campaign.
Immigration authorities detain 2,256 undocumented Haitians in single-day operations
