The protest against Haitian migration in the Dominican Republic leaves 32 detainees

A total of 32 people were arrested on Sunday in the Dominican Republic after a demonstration against illegal migration from Haiti that ended in clashes with the authorities, police said Monday.

The protest was convened by the ancient nationalist group Dominican order in the Haitian community of Friusa, Bávaro (Este).

At the end of the protest a group of «hooded» tried to enter a residential neighborhood guarded by the authorities «generating an incident,» the police explained on the eve.

«We have 32 people detained,» the National Police director, Ramón Guzmán Peralta, said Monday, who said a firearm was seized.

No injured were reported.

Dominican Republic and Haiti share the Spanish island and have a conflicting history.

According to official data, about 500,000 Haitians live in the Dominican Republic.

Nationalist groups argue that the number of immigrants has increased in recent years due to the economic crisis and the growing violence of gangs that control much of Haiti.

These groups demand the Dominican Government firmer measures to curb Haitian immigration, although its immigration policy has hardened since President Luis Abinader came to power.

Abinader, 57, reinforced the presence of the armed force on the border, raised a wall between the two countries and launched a plan to deport weekly Haitians.