William Lacy Swing, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), urges authorities in the Dominican Republic to extend the National Plan of Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE) living in an irregular migratory situation in the Dominican Republic, which ended on June 17 at midnight, to regularize the migratory status of thousands of Haitian migrants under what is known as "General Migration Law 285-04".

"Too many of those concerned face serious difficulty in securing documents in the country, and thus need extra time and assistance to make their applications. We appeal to the authorities to continue to work with those subject to the General Migration Law and their employers beyond the Regularization Plan deadline," declared Ambassador Swing adding "Large scale deportations must be avoided"

IOM remains concerned by many applicants, many of whom support dependents either in the Dominican Republic or in Haiti, and in some cases, perhaps both.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre