(English) Rift in the Catholic Church in Haiti

Immigration has long been a divisive issue on Hispaniola, the Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

For decades, large numbers of Haitians have migrated – many of them without papers – to the Dominican Republic, to escape the poverty and lack of employment in their homeland.

In 2013, the Dominican Republic’s highest court ruled that children born there to undocumented migrants were not automatically eligible for Dominican nationality.

An 18-month period followed in which undocumented migrants were asked to “regulate their status”.

Thousands who did not meet the deadline left the Dominican Republic, with many saying they were forced out by the authorities.

It was founded- the Catholic Church has played a key role in the migration crisis with some priests defending the rights of the returnees while others have been criticised for promoting what activists describe as a policy of division.