Focus Group participants from CEDESO staff, and OBMICA facilitator, Tamayo, 28th October 2020 the Interior and Police for Migration Management, Juan Manuel Rosario, revealed to the press his opposition to the 75026 children of Decree 262-202 being naturalized without their parents being so [naturalized]. He also decried the work of identifying people from “Group B2,” which various organizations have been doing since the closure of [registration under] Law 169-14. According to Mr. Rosario: “Not on your life would we approve the granting of status to a foreigner as a result of international pressures nor would we grant an immigration status that is not in accordance with the law and interests of the Dominican Republic.”27 In the same conference, Mr. Rosario, who considers it a matter of national security and sovereignty, explains that he has ordered a procedural audit of the [application] files submitted for the PNRE, with a view to nullifying the country’s immense effort to regularize the While the decree refers to 750, in reality there are 749 beneficiaries, since one is duplicated on the list. 27. https://hoy.com.do/mip-audita-regularizacion-extranjeros-porirregularidades/ 26. migrant population and create a path to naturalization for their descendants. j) Dialogue and the search for solutions The civil society organizations (CSOs) providing accompaniment to this population perceive a reduction in opportunities for political advocacy and dialogue with the current administration. During the pandemic, CSOs have been focused on channeling aid from international organizations to affected communities, thereby operating in a parastatal manner to meet the needs of this socially excluded population. Consequently, they are well aware of the needs of this population and are willing to resume dialogue in search of solutions that value our collective well-being in pandemic times. It is worth recalling the round table discussions on migration and nationality issues between civil society and the government which were held in 2017/2018, but whose deliberations were inconclusive and marked by State inaction since well before the pandemic. The State undertook important collaborative steps during Research Brief: COVID-19 Impacts on Haitian Migrants and their Descendants on the Southern Border of the D.R. 33