2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) government hired thugs who used machetes instead of guns in an attempt to hide the official policy behind such crimes. 91 What started as an impulsive initiative by a dictator was later construed as a necessary evil to defend the homeland against a ‘pacific invasion’. 92 Nation building narratives from then on, construed an image of Haiti and the Haitians or persons of Haitian descent (who had lived together with their neighbours in relative peace until then) as an enemy and a threat to the Dominican Republic. Both countries had been united by a permeable border, but from then onwards they would be separated by an unforgettable wound. 93 While the Trujillo dictatorship between 1930 and 1961 fully embraced antihaitianismo, it also profited significantly from migration. The fact that the 1937 massacre took place during this period is a sign of its contradictory policies. 94 Indeed, during his mandate immigration was stimulated. B Erosion of Jus Soli The Constitution of the Dominican Republic 1844 recognised as Dominicans all individuals who had the nationality at the time of the publication of the Constitution, as well as persons born to Dominican parents in its territory. 95 Dominican nationality implied a combination of birth on the eastern side of the island and belonging to the Dominican/Spanish culture. 96 Later on, the Constitution of the Dominican Republic 1865 introduced the acquisition of nationality through jus soli. 97 Then, the Constitution of the Dominican Republic 1908 introduced the controversial ‘in transit’ clause, which restricted the application of jus soli to persons who were not permanently settled in the country. 98 Its broader or stricter interpretation has been at the crux of deprivation of nationality for persons of Haitian descent. From 1916 until 1924 the Dominican Republic was occupied by the US. Haitian migration increased alongside demand for cheap labour for the sugar industry from then until the 1980s. Haitian migrants were not only tolerated by the Dominican authorities but also documented in a civil registry until 1986. They received migration permits and identity cards. 99 Between the 1950s and the 1990s, many Dominicans of Haitian descent were recognised as citizens because their parents could register them as children born in the Dominican Republic using their Haitian documents. The files and identification cards provided by the sugarcane companies where they worked were allowed to be presented to acquire 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 ibid 306. Hintzen (n 87) 71. ibid. Ernesto Sagás, Race and Politics in The Dominican Republic (University Press of Florida 2000) 46. Constitution of the Dominican Republic 1844 arts 7(1), (2). Ernesto Sagás, Report on Citizenship Law: Dominican Republic (Report, Globalcit 2017) 3 <https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/50045> (‘Report on Citizenship Law’). Constitution of the Dominican Republic 1865 art 5(1). Constitution of the Dominican Republic 1908 art 7(2). Riveros Natalia, ‘El Estado de la Cuestión de la Población de los Bateyes Dominicanos en Relación a la Documentación’ (Report, Observatorio de Migrantes del Caribe Santo Domingo 2014) 42 208