Prelate laments plight of Haitian mothers present illegally in Dominican Republic
June 26, 2026
The vice president of the Haitian Episcopal Conference lamented the plight of Haitian mothers who have fled the conflict there for the neighboring Dominican Republic (map).
Present in the Dominican Republic illegally, the mothers give birth in unsanitary conditions so as to avoid the risk of deportation from hospitals.
“How can such a thing happen?” said Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau and Miragoâne, as quoted in a Vatican newspaper article. “It is a situation that defies basic human sensibilities. It is a grave wound to dignity, and we, as the Church, must defend life from beginning to end: no person should be denied medical care.”
The right of a nation to control its borders and enforce its immigration laws “must be balanced against the duty always to respect human dignity and fundamental rights,” he added.
Father Germain Clerveau, S.J., the director of Jesuit Migrant Service in Haiti, said he has heard numerous reports of “pregnant women being arrested in hospitals, near health centers, or even in their own homes. Some women are expelled immediately after giving birth, while others are sometimes separated from their loved ones or their newborns before being sent back to Haiti.”
“It is not uncommon for childbirth to end in tragedy, involving hemorrhages, infections, premature births, and deaths, when it takes place in basements, makeshift shelters, overcrowded rooms, or shacks lacking electricity, potable water, and adequate sanitary conditions,” he added.
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