Haitian women in the Dominican Republic are facing dangerous home births due to fears of deportation. The Dominican government has deployed immigration agents to public hospitals, targeting migrants for detention and deportation.

Katty Joseph, a 20-year-old living in the Dominican Republic, was among those affected. She avoided going to a hospital to give birth, fearing deportation without legal documents. Instead, she delivered her child in a car repair shop where she was staying.

Joseph used a blanket on the greasy floor as a makeshift birthing area. She cut the umbilical cord with a razor. Unfortunately, her baby did not survive long, passing away less than a day after birth.

The deportation campaign, ongoing for over a year, predominantly targets Haitians fleeing severe conditions in Haiti. Many pregnant women, like Joseph, resort to giving birth in unsupervised and often unhygienic settings to avoid detainment.

Joseph’s experience highlights the perilous choices faced by undocumented migrants. The fear of hospital deportations forces them to endure unsafe conditions, risking their health and that of their newborns.