A demonstrator holding a Haitian flag shouts, "No racism" as he blocks a police car during a march to the prime minister's office to protest the Dominican Republic's deportation of Haitians, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 21, 2015. A Dominican court said people born to non-citizens were not automatically entitled to citizenship. The decision was extended back to 1929, retroactively stripping people of the right they believed they had since birth. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Americas

Dominican Troops Reinforce Border as Migrants Try to Return

By The Associated Press

January 5, 2016 Updated: January 5, 2016

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic—The Dominican Republic has sent hundreds of soldiers to its border with Haiti to make it harder for migrants without legal residency to enter the country after returning home to spend the holidays.

A contingent of 900 troops was dispatched as part of what officials are calling “Operation Shield.” They were joining about 1,200 soldiers already assigned to patrol the area that divides the island of Hispaniola.

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The deployment announced Tuesday is part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration. Last year, the government issued residency permits to 184,000 people who could prove they had been living in the country since before October 2011.

An estimated 300,000 are thought to be in the country without legal status. Officials have warned that anyone without legal residency may face deportation.