SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP):
THE DOMINICAN Republic's Supreme Court has rejected an effort to allow the children of illegal immigrants to become citizens.
The court Wednesday upheld a Dominican law that says children born in the county whose parents are illegal migrants are considered "in transit," and not eligible for citizenship.
Several organisations, including the Jesuit Refugee Service, had sought to change the law on behalf of many illegal migrants who cross the border from neighbouring Haiti to escape the poverty and chaos of their country.
About one million Haitians, many of them illegal immigrants, live in the Dominican Republic, which has a population of 8.8 million.
The court ruling comes amid increased tension between the two nations that share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
On Monday, student protesters disrupted a one-day visit to Port-au-Prince by Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, hurling stones and burning tyres in the streets as his motorcade left a meeting with the interim Haitian prime minister and president.
Haiti's government apologised for the violent demonstrations in which at least three students were wounded by gunfire after police opened fire to disperse the crowds.
Earlier this month, Dominican villagers burned about 20 shacks occupied by Haitian migrants in reprisal for their alleged involvement in the killing of a businessman.
In May, the Dominican government deported at least 2,000 Haitians after the killing of a Dominican woman. No one was arrested for the murder, but Dominicans went on a retaliatory rampage, beheading two Haitians.
