14 separating nuclear families (parents and children who are minors) in repatriations; c) deport Haitians only by way of the following border crossings: Jimani/Malpasse, Dajabon/Ouanaminthe, Elías Piña/Belladere and Pedernales/ Anse-à-Pietre; d) take concrete measures to ensure that the repatriated persons are able to take their personal effects with them, and not to withhold the repatriated persons’ personal documents or papers unless, in the opinion of the Dominican authorities, those documents and papers have legal defects, in which case they shall be retained and sent to the Haitian diplomatic mission in the Dominican Republic; d) provide each repatriated person with a copy of the form containing his or her repatriation order; e) give the Haitian diplomatic or consular authorities accredited in the Dominican Republic the list of persons in the repatriation process sufficiently in advance so that those authorities are 19 able to perform their consular assistance function. 65. At the time the alleged victims were expelled to Haiti, the law in effect upheld the principle of jus soli as the basis for conferring Dominican nationality and provided that naturalized Dominican citizenship could be obtained, inter alia, if one lived in the country for more than two years. 66. Furthermore, if proceedings were instituted against an alien who was on Dominican soil in violation of the Immigration Law, the laws in effect at that time established a series of procedures and guarantees. The proceeding had to involve: i) a thorough investigation; ii) an arrest warrant from the immigration inspector spelling out the facts and specific reasons why the alien had to be deported; iii) the information of the alien were to be entered in a form when the alien was given his hearing; iv) if the alien denied the charges, further proof had to be produced; v) in a second hearing, the alien had the right to defend himself against the charges, and vi) a decision by the Secretary of State for the Interior and Police ordering deportation. 67. In the case of Haitian citizens, the law provided that : a) repatriations could not be done on certain days and at certain times; b) families were not to be separated; c) the repatriations could only be done by way of certain border crossings, and d) concrete steps had to be taken to enable repatriated persons to collect their documentation and belongings; e) repatriated persons had to be given a copy of the order of repatriation, and f) the competent authorities had to be notified in advance. 68. In 2004, the State adopted a new Immigration No. 285-04. Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern that this new law 20 The Committee on the [n]arrows the scope of article 11 of the Dominican Constitution establishing that any person born in the State party is entitled to Dominican citizenship, with the exception of, in particular, children of persons “in transit”. The law provides that only children of residents born on Dominican soil are entitled to Dominican nationality, and defines “non-residents” to include, inter alia, undocumented migrants living and working in the State party, and temporary workers, which considerably limits access to citizenship for children of migrants of Haitian origin born in the Dominican Republic, and may lead to situations of statelessness. The Committee is furthermore concerned at the retroactive application of this law. The Committee notes with concern the negative and artificial interpretation of the term “in transit” in the State party’s legislation, which has seriously 21 affected the status of many families of Haitian origin who would otherwise be Dominican residents. 69. More recently, In 2010, the State amended its Constitution and now, the right to nationality is enshrined in article 18 paragraph 3, as follows: 19 Annex 1. The State’s reply to the IACHR’s request for precautionary measures, December 15, 1999. Information supplied by the State on July 26, 2000. The State’s response to the case referral, August 8, 2000. 20 21 Available [in Spanish] at: http://mip.gob.do/Portals/0/docs/Migracion/ley.pdf UN, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 52nd session, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention. Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Dominican Republic. CERD/C/DOM/CO/12, May 16, 2008, paragraph 14.