In 2005 Dominican President Leonel Fernández criticized collective expulsions of Haitians were " improperly and inhumane . " After a delegation from the United Nations issued a preliminary report stating that it found a profound problem of racism and discrimination against people of Haitian origin , the Dominican Foreign Minister , Carlos Morales Troncoso , gave a formal statement saying " Our border with Haiti has its problems , this is our reality , and this must be understood . It 's important not to confuse national sovereignty with indifference , and not to confuse security with xenophobia . " After the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 , the number of Haitians doubled to 2 million , most of them illegally crossed after the border opened for international aid . Human Rights Watch estimated in 70,000 Haitian immigrants legal and 1,930,000 illegal living in Dominican Republic
earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
Afro-Dominicans