of whether the couple is married or in a free union53, the mother's passport is required for the registration of children; although it is not required in the reverse case of a father in an irregular situation and a Dominican mother.54 This discrimination based on gender can generate situations of statelessness55, even for descendants of mothers previously registered with the PNRE and who have not been able to renew their immigration documents56. Furthermore, in practice, birth registration is characterized by a high level of discretion and discrimination exercised by responsible officials.57 For example, birth certificates have been erroneously issued to foreigners based on the perception that their parents were Haitian migrants.58 V. Restrictive immigration policies Dominicans and Haitian migrants and expulsions of documented 16. A notorious tightening of the Government's immigration policies started in 2021. While people in human mobility suffer increasing impediments to entering the country or when trying to renew their immigration status, people of Haitian origin are subjected to greater restrictions to their mobility and possibility of access Dominican nationality. This migratory policy with the beginning of the construction of a border wall, the militarisation of immigration control59 and the decision of the National Migration Council (CNM) to prevent entry into the country of any foreign person “who implies an unreasonable burden on public finances, including women who are in a state of proven pregnancy equal to or greater than six months.”60 17. The descendants of Haitian parents have less access to Dominican documentation compared to other people of foreign descent.61 More than 200,000 people who had regularised their migratory situation through PNRE, have not been able to renew their residence permit due to a general audit of the Plan, restrictive documentary requirements and the closure of the office in charge of records.62 In addition, the Government suspended two regularization programs for Haitian migrants: a special program for students and another for border residents who carry out daily business in the country.63. 53 OBMICA. Facilitating access to the Dominican civil registry for descendants of mixed couples: protocol for their legal support. September 2018. p. 35. 54 OBMICA. Status of Migrations Concerning the Dominican Republic. 2021. P. 385. 55 CLADEM. Alternative Report from Civil Society Organizations on the Occasion of the Presentation of the 8th Report of the Dominican State to the CEDAW. June 2020. P. 6. 56 Ad-hoc coalition of civil society organizations. Joint Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the situation of children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic, with emphasis on the rights to nationality, equality, non-discrimination, and access to education and health. 2023. P. 11. 57 Fernando I. Ferrán, Tahira Vargas García, and Miguel Ceara Hatton, “Qualitative Study of Behaviour Patterns in Two Border Provinces of the Dominican Republic” (Santo Domingo: Vargas Social Research Team, February 2020), available at: https://mepyd.gob.do/wp-content/uploads/drive/DPDZF/Publicaciones/Patrones%20de%20comportamiento%20en%20ZF%20%20Vargas%26Ferr%C3%A1n%20-%202020.pdf, p. 67; UNHCR and OAS, Regional Study on Late Registration of Births, Granting of Nationality Documents and Statelessness: Standards, Best Practices, Barriers and Challenges in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay (December 2020) Authors: Estefanía Calderón López, Mónica Espinoza Rojas & Ana Paola Murillo Nassar, pp. 79, 85, 86, 118, 120. 58 OBMICA. Status of Migrations Concerning the Dominican Republic. 2021. p. 385. 59 OBMICA. Status of Migrations Concerning the Dominican Republic. 2021. P. 318 and 326; OBMICA. Dignified treatment: New challenges for Due Process in Deportations from the Dominican Republic. February, 2023. P. 16. 60 OBMICA. Status of Migrations Concerning the Dominican Republic. 2021. P. 256. 61 UNFPA. Complementary study to the second national survey of immigrants ENI-2017: “Descendants of immigrants in the Dominican Republic”. Second edition. November 2019. P. 92. 62 OBMICA, p. 22; US Department of State Annual Report on Human Rights Dominican Republic. 2022. P. 19. 63 Coalition Social protection for Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Dominican Republic. Contributions to the preparation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/21. September 14, 2022. P. 5. 6