Florida Senate - 2016                                     SM 482
       
       
        
       By Senator Thompson
       
       
       
       
       
       12-00653-16                                            2016482__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to encourage the Dominican Republic to
    4         reinstate citizenship to those Dominicans of Haitian
    5         descent adversely affected by the Dominican Republic
    6         Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling No. 168-13 and
    7         Naturalization Law No. 169-14.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, the United States has a long history of addressing
   10  and advocating for the rights of its people, and of all peoples
   11  of the world, to enjoy justice, freedom, and equal access to
   12  opportunities for all, and
   13         WHEREAS, in September 2013, the Constitutional Tribunal of
   14  the Dominican Republic issued ruling No. 168-13, which
   15  retroactively nullified the Dominican citizenship and
   16  nationality of nearly 220,000 people born to Haitian parents in
   17  the Dominican Republic after 1929, and
   18         WHEREAS, the tribunal’s ruling contravenes a ruling of the
   19  Inter-American Court of Human Rights, holding that a parent’s
   20  immigration status may not affect a child’s citizenship, and
   21  disregards provisions of the Dominican Republic’s previous
   22  constitution, which had provided that those born on Dominican
   23  soil were vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of
   24  Dominican citizenship, and
   25         WHEREAS, in May 2014, in response to the domestic and
   26  international outcry against the retroactive denationalization
   27  of so many, the National Congress of the Dominican Republic
   28  enacted Naturalization Law No. 169-14, providing a path to
   29  regain citizenship for those affected by the Constitutional
   30  Tribunal’s ruling No. 168-13, and
   31         WHEREAS, under the Naturalization Law, Group “A,” those
   32  affected Dominicans whose births were already registered with
   33  the government, could apply to have their citizenship reinstated
   34  at any time, but Group “B,” those affected Dominicans with no
   35  birth registry, had 180 days, or until February 1, 2015, to
   36  obtain a residency permit with the possibility of applying for
   37  naturalization in 2 years, and
   38         WHEREAS, Naturalization Law No. 169-14 is poorly drafted
   39  and, since its inception, has been poorly promoted and
   40  implemented, resulting in many persons in Group “A” not
   41  receiving their citizenship papers or being informed about the
   42  law, and
   43         WHEREAS, the majority of Group “B” belong to the most
   44  disadvantaged sector of Dominican society, and, according to the
   45  Dominican Republic’s Minister of Interior, only 8,755 of an
   46  eligible 110,000 were registered by the deadline, leaving more
   47  than 100,000 stateless and facing deportation by June 17, 2015,
   48  and
   49         WHEREAS, in October 2014, the Inter-American Court of Human
   50  Rights found that the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling and those
   51  provisions of Naturalization Law No. 169-14 relating to Group
   52  “B” violate the American Convention on Human Rights, and
   53         WHEREAS, these unjust laws have created a xenophobic
   54  attitude toward Haitians and affected Dominicans, resulting in
   55  acts of violence and even death by torture, mob attacks, and
   56  lynching, and
   57         WHEREAS, various groups across the nation, including civil
   58  rights, human rights, academic, legal, political, and other
   59  groups, such as the United States National Bar Association, the
   60  Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, Amnesty
   61  International, and the Coalition of Dominicans Against Racism,
   62  as well as cities, including Miami, New York City, and
   63  Philadelphia, call for immediate action in the Dominican
   64  Republic, NOW, THEREFORE,
   65  
   66  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   67  
   68         That the Congress of the United States is urged to defend
   69  worldwide human rights by encouraging the Dominican Republic to
   70  comply with international norms and regulations, amend or repeal
   71  Naturalization Law No. 169-14, extend the naturalization
   72  registration deadline, and reinstate the citizenship of those
   73  affected Dominicans.
   74         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
   75  dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
   76  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
   77  United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
   78  the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.