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On May 9, , died after giving birth in her rural home in El Ceibo, Dominican Republic. The cause of death was a postpartum hemorrhage, according to a news report in The Haitian Times.

Despite needing medical attention, Jean-Pierre was reportedly afraid to go to the hospital. Why? She feared being deported.

Jean-Pierre was not wrong to be afraid. Soon after her death, paramedics arrived with police officers to check on the newborn and .

Between April 21 and the end of May this year, 900 . They are part of the new, extreme tough-on-immigration policies in the Dominican Republic. In May alone, .

A new wave of mass deportations

Last October, the Dominican government initiated a new wave of mass deportations as President Luis Abinader ordered a quota of 10,000 Haitians deported per week. On April 6, new extraordinary measures to control immigration.

The rollout of this policy began on April 21. Migration officials were assigned to work in hospitals and required migrants to show their documents before receiving medical care or face deportation.

The new protocol does not specify pregnant and breastfeeding women. However, it effectively targets them in hospitals. Evidence of this is the fact that the policy "that report the largest number of pregnant migrant women—mainly those of Haitian origin."

The targeting of pregnant women is not new

The targeting of pregnant migrants in the DR isn't new. the Ministry of the Interior and Police announced a protocol to limit pregnant migrant women's access to health care in the DR.

Dozens of deportation raids were carried out in maternity wards in the capital and other large urban centers. According to immigration officials, attendance at pre-natal appointments fell by 80% by the end of 2021.

Deportation raids in maternity wards slowed down between 2022 and 2024, but women were still afraid to go for their check-up appointments. Pre-natal care is essential in preventing maternal deaths.

According to a media report, the Dominican's National Health System estimates that

No documents, no health care

There are almost no ways for Haitians in the Dominican Republic . And

There is a long history of a lack of documentation among Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, exacerbated by the . That means Dominican-Haitians are also at risk of being deported when accessing health care.

This happened to who, according to community reports, went to a hospital for a programmed Cesarean section and was instead , the country's largest migrant detention center. Ferdinad on May 31.

Deportations are expected to occur . But report that deportations regularly take place in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, in trucks filled beyond capacity.

Structural racism

Elena Lorac, co-founder of , an advocacy group of denationalized Dominicans of Haitian descent, said the situation is exacerbated by structural racism.

runs through the politics of the Dominican Republic, whereby , and linked to neighboring Haiti.

In contrast, DR's nationalist groups, such as the , emphasize their colonial Spanish roots.

Reproductive health rights under attack

Haitian pregnant women are between a rock and a hard place. Hemorrhages and unsafe abortions are among the main causes of maternal mortality. Most of these cases if pregnant people have access to health services.

.

Maternal mortality in the DR is lower. But its mistreatment of pregnant migrants, and its criminalization of abortion in all circumstances,

Haiti: A country in humanitarian crisis

Deported migrants usually have no family or social networks in the locations they are deported at. And they have limited to no access to health services and social services.

Dominican-Haitians also get deported because they have no legal documents despite having lived there their whole lives. They often have never been to Haiti, and barely speak Haitian Creole.

In Haiti, .

Though there are , global cuts to humanitarian agencies like the and are affecting personnel on the ground. The humanitarian conditions in Haiti are increasingly challenging.

. . More than half the population is expected to experience .

Protesting violence

On May 28, 13 organizations led a demonstration in front of the Dominican Republic Health Ministry. Peasant women, domestic workers, artists and feminists .

Sirana Dolis, co-founder of Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women , said of the situation:

"Haitian women and women of Haitian descent are a people who love life, but under these circumstances, reproduction is like a death sentence."

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.