In February, the Dominican government began building a wall that will cover half of the 244-mile border with Haiti, its only land neighbor, to stem "irregular" migration and the smuggling of goods, weapons, and drugs.
The two countries share the island of Hispaniola, but couldn't be more different in their development. As Reuters reports, "crime-plagued Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the Americas while the Dominican Republic … has prospered in recent decades amid marked political stability" as a popular tourist destination in the Caribbean.
Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says it's understandable that the Dominicans would want to build a wall.
"Border walls seem to be effective," he tells AFN. "The Dominican Republic seems to think it's effective. Egypt has built a very secure border wall with Gaza. Border walls are effective – and maybe the United States and the Biden administration can take a cue from some of these countries and maybe decide that, after all, a border wall would be effective here."
Humberto Fontova fled Cuba in 1961 and has written several books on that communist regime. He finds it telling that the Left hasn't complained about it. "That tells you something. They can build a wall, but we can't. Unbelievable!" he exclaims. "Where's the Pope? I remember the Pope was all up in arms over the wall."
Five years ago, Pope Francis made clear his opposition to governments building walls. "Those who build walls will become prisoners of the walls they put up," CNN quotes him as saying. "Builders of walls sow fear," he also stated on a different occasion. Opposition has also come from individuals and organizations in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic.
Officials say the 20-centimeter-think concrete wall will be almost 13-feet high and will have fiber optics for communications, movement sensors, cameras, radars, and drones. The project also includes the construction of 70 watchtowers and 41 access gates for patrolling.
The first phase of the project is slated for completion within nine months.
