DOMINICAN CITIZENSHIP
Recent policy changes and the effect on Haitians
The Dominican Republic has made policy changes regarding citizenship that in return hinders access to these ID cards for the Haitian immigrants that have established a life in the country, in some cases for decades. This debate over citizenship cards in the country is at the center of the immigration issue on the island that encompasses the underlying theme of racism which is also perpetuated by the various government narratives and the colloquial language present in everyday conversation among Dominicans. Click the Learn more now button to find more on the evolution of the Dominican "cédulas", or ID cards.
A DEEPER LOOK INTO CITIZENSHIP
The idea of citizenship is contested among every individual country around the world. But at what point do the policies infringe upon one's human rights and their safety and happiness.
Following the history of the Dominican "cédulas", ID cards, is important to demonstrate how the government has responded to Haitian immigrants or simply people of different skin color. The cards have evolved positively since their conception in the 1930’s because of the change towards gender equality. Yet, in the more recent years the government has included information on the cards that promotes racial profiling in the country. The past yellow ID cards included skin color to distinguish between the Dominicans, or whites, with a “B” (blanco) and the indigenous, or “Indios”, with an I. By distinguishing between the two different ethnicities they are promoting a sense of superiority in those cards showing the B for skin color. The racism and racial profiling included in these citizenship cards is furthered in the most recent orange ID cards because although they took skin color off the cards and include nationality instead, they have eradicated the acknowledgement of any indigenous population. With these new ID cards, only mulatto, black and white will be the only “colors”, cutting out the moreno representation of the “indios”. Even though it may be said the indigenous population was wiped out by the Spanish during colonization from massacres and disease, there are still some living on the island. Because of this, the Dominican government is not showing acceptance of the various ethnicities within their country.