DOMINICA'S ILLEGAL MIGRANT PROBLEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRIDGETOWN 000060

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL/HSTC
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2016
TAGS: SMIG SOCI CVIS PHUM PGOV PREL KCRM DO DR FR
HA, XL
SUBJECT: DOMINICA'S ILLEGAL MIGRANT PROBLEM


Classified By: DCM Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Dominica is struggling to cope with
increasing numbers of illegal migrants from Haiti and the
Dominican Republic, an unprecedented situation for this
small-island state that is one of the poorest countries in
the Caribbean. The migrants typically use Dominica as a
transit point to reach other destinations in the region, but
increasing numbers have remained to find employment. Women
from the Dominican Republic have been migrating to Dominica
to work as prostitutes, although authorities do not believe
that trafficking has occurred. After several years of
seeming inaction, the Government of Dominica has recently
taken steps to stem the flow of migrants. The Government
will, however, have to overcome suspicions that in the past
it allowed smuggling to occur because of the cash such a
lucrative trade brought to a struggling economy or that
prominent Dominicans may have personally profited from this
criminal activity. End summary.

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Migration to Rather Than from Dominica
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2. (U) Illegal migration to Dominica has become an issue of
increasing concern in this poor country that has typically
been a place that people migrate from rather than to.
Haitians form the largest group of migrants, many of whom use
Dominica as a means to transit to other, wealthier islands in
the Caribbean. Increasing numbers, however, have remained in
Dominica to find employment. A smaller number of migrants
either transiting or staying in the country have come from
the Dominican Republic (DR),with women from the DR filling
the ranks of Dominica's growing commercial sex trade. While
neither migration has yet to cause serious social problems,
Dominica authorities fear that the involvement of local
people in migrant smuggling and prostitution could lead to an
increase in other forms of criminal activity, as well as a
rise in cases of HIV/AIDS.

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Haitian Migration
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3. (U) Haitians have been migrating to and through Dominica
for the past ten years, although they began arriving in large
numbers in 2003, according to Government officials. While
none of the officials could give an accurate number of
Haitians who have arrived in Dominica, one recent estimate
put the number at more than 11,000 arriving in this country
of only 70,000 people since 2003. Most of the Haitians
entered Dominica legally then used it as a transit point to
reach other Caribbean islands, particularly the neighboring
French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Government
officials believe that growing numbers of Haitians have
chosen to remain in Dominica to work illegally for low wages
in agriculture and construction. Their ability to live in
the country is facilitated by the fact that many Dominicans
speak a French-based patois similar to Haitian Creole.

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Government Unable to Stem the Flow
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4. (U) Dominica made a limited effort in 2003 to control the
number of Haitians entering the country by instituting a
policy that required them to pay a US$400 deposit to
immigration officials upon arrival, which could only be
collected upon their documented departure. Of the over
11,000 Haitians who paid the deposit, only 100 are believed
to have collected their money. When the deposit policy
failed to dissuade Hatitians from traveling to Dominica, the
Government drew up a visa regime that was to have gone into
effect in December 2005. The plan was put on hold in
response to concerns that such a measure would restrict the
freedom of movement of CARICOM nationals. Although Dominica
immigration officers could deny entry to Haitians they
believe are entering the country with the intention of
illegally traveling elsewhere or remaining to work, they
rarely do so.

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Is the Government Complicit in Smuggling?
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5. (U) Domestic critics have castigated the Government of
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit for its failure to address
the smuggling of migrants through Dominica. Some have gone
so far as to suggest that the Government has allowed
smuggling to occur because of the money it brings to this
economically distressed county. Critics have charged that
seemingly everyone on the island but the police and other
officials seem to know that the center of organized smuggling
is Portsmouth, a town that is represented in Parliament by
Ian Douglas, a close advisor to PM Skerrit who became
Attorney General last year.


6. (C) DAO reported in 2003 that a high-level Dominica law
enforcement official said that Ian Douglas's family profited
from migrant smuggling and that Douglas had personally
intervened to prevent the police from investigating a
suspected smuggling network. The official also alleged that
Henry Dyer, Dominica's Attorney General at the time, had told
the police that they should not apprehend illegal migrants in
Dominica. DAO commented in the report that it had "no hard
evidence" to support these allegations.

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Haitian Smuggling Network
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7. (SBU) An international smuggling network has developed to
bring Haitians to Dominica, a high-ranking police official
recently explained to Poloff. Haitians are believed to pay a
facilitator to get them to Dominica, where many arrive
legally via commercial airlines. A favored carrier is
Western Airlines, which flies a 20-seat plane from Haiti to
Dominica twice a week. The police official opined to Poloff
that the sole purpose of Western Airlines flights to Dominica
is to facilitate migration and expressed frustration with his
Government's apparent inaction against the carrier.


8. (U) From Dominica, the Haitians are smuggled by small
vessels to other Caribbean islands at a cost of several
thousand dollars per person. Boats can often be heard
leaving ports, fishing villages and remote coastal areas
under cover of darkness. Like illegal migrants throughout
the world, Haitians typically face a perilous journey. In
July 2005, for example, the St. Maarten coast guard rescued
52 Haitians from a small boat that was taking on water and
had been abandoned by its captain. The Haitians were
deported back to Dominica, the country from which they
departed. The captain was eventually caught and has been
charged in Dominica with the illegal transport of migrants.
The Government has said this is only the first prosecution in
what will be an ongoing effort to crack down on local
smugglers. (Note: If Haitian migrants have traveled from
Dominica as far as St. Maarten, it is possible that they
could reach the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. End
note.)

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On to France
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9. (U) The town of Portsmouth is a favored departure point
from Dominica, in part, because of its location on the
northern part of the island where it is only a short distance
from Guadeloupe. Since Guadeloupe and nearby Martinique are
French departments, when the Haitians arrive on these islands
they have technically landed not in overseas colonies but in
France proper. The ease with which Haitians have been
reaching the French islands led France and Dominica to sign
an agreement in October 2005 to improve the sharing of
intelligence and cooperation between their coast guards.

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"Spanish" Prostitutes from the Dominican Republic
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10. (U) The migration to Dominica from the Dominican Republic
is on a smaller scale than that from Haiti, but works in a
similar manner. The one difference is that women from the DR
have been coming to Dominica to work in the country's growing

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commercial sex trade. Many of the women who arrive from the
DR have fair complexions and are referred to by Dominicans as
"Spanish," which supposedly makes them particularly appealing
to their customers. Most of the women come to Dominica
voluntarily, knowing they will be prostitutes, according to
Government officials. Some are believed to have arrived
hoping for different forms of employment but turned to
prostitution after being unable to find other work.
Government officials who spoke recently to Poloff believe
there is an organized network that recruits women in the DR
to work as prostitutes in Dominica. The officials said,
however, that they have seen no evidence that these women
have been coerced or that trafficking has occurred.

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Government Criticized Over Prostitution
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11. (U) Domestically, the Government has received a great
deal of criticism for its inability to arrest providers or
consumers of commercial sex, which is illegal, and the police
force's efforts to break up prostitution rings have so far
been ineffective. A police official explained to Poloff that
in such a small society as Dominica's, where everyone knows
everyone else, it is virtually impossible to place police
officers undercover to infiltrate brothels or other organized
crime activities. Meanwhile, community leaders have offered
stinging critiques of a Dominican society that they say is
increasingly engaging in illicit behavior that could lead to
a rise in cases of HIV/AIDS. Under increasing pressure to
deal with migrants from the Dominican Republic, particularly
prostitutes, in December 2005 Dominica began requiring people
from the DR to have visas to enter the country.

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Why Come to Dominica?
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12. (U) A puzzling aspect of Dominica's current migration
situation is why people from Haiti or the DR would go to one
of the poorer countries in the Caribbean to find employment.
According to several knowledgeable observers, despite the
fact that the country typically has a 25 percent unemployment
rate, jobs in strenuous occupations such as agriculture and
construction often go unfilled. Many Dominicans,
particularly idle young men, are loath to take such work.
The observers explained to Poloff that the high unemployment
rate and other gloomy economic data obscure the fact that
extended families can typically subsist on food produced on
the small plots of land they own with supplemental cash
brought in by a few wage earners. This leaves an opening for
desperate migrants who are willing to do hard work for low
pay while escaping the everyday violence and poor security
conditions in Haiti.


13. (C) Comment: The Government of Dominica's recent effort
to stem the tide of migrants belies the fact that it had
previously done little about the situation. Only increased
criticism of the Government and growing fears of social
problems associated with the migrants appear to have made PM
Skerrit and his administration pay more attention to the
matter. It is still too early to tell if the now seemingly
energized Government will be successful in dealing with its
migrant problem, although the meager resources available to
its coast guard and police suggest that Dominica has a
difficult task ahead. In addition, the Government, through
its actions, will have to overcome skeptics who may believe
that officials allowed smuggling to occur or even had a hand
in this criminal activity.
KRAMER